The Elemental Swordsman
by Williamgbirkin
Summary: Naruto is a wandering swordsman who wants two things. To collect interesting blades, and to be the best in the world. Naruto X Samui, Ranmaru's doujutsu Naruto. Cover image by EmoIsTheNewHappy. I do not own Naruto, or any other trademarked material.
1. Introductions

My name is Williamgbirkin, and I am a fucking idiot. I've had to start this three separate times because I kept forgetting to save. Anyways, this is my new story, The Elemental Swordsman.

Cover image by **EmoIsTheNewHappy** on Deviantart. The image is called Request - NarutoxSamui, and was a commission for **ToaNaruto**.

I'm sorry for everyone who's eager for me to post Kokketsu, the Black Blood re-write, but I felt that I kinda had to do this first.

Is it just me, or do a lot of mangas have an alcoholic large breasted female? Cana from Fairy Tail, Rangiku From Bleach, Tsunade from Naruto, Nami from One Piece (though she might not apply). I haven't really read many other manga, but it's something I've noticed.

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_**Disclaimer (only one you're getting): I do not own Naruto**_

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"Jutsu": Human Speech

_'Jutsu'_: Human Thought

**"Jutsu":** Demon/Summon Speech

**_'Jutsu'_**: Demon/Summon Thought

**"Jutsu"**: Jutsu

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Kumogakure no sato, otherwise known as the village hidden in the clouds. It was home to many; the Raikage, who was the fastest man alive, the second largest and most powerful shinobi force after Konohagakure (the village hidden in the leaves), and the most (and best if not for Kirigakure's seven swordsmen) kenjutsu users outside the samurai.

One such sword wielder was currently practicing, standing in the middle of a large, raised stone circle, surrounded by mountains and water, going through several advanced katas with her sword, starting slow, but then going faster and faster, until she and her tanto were nothing but a blur. This woman was Samui, a genin, the lowest ranking member of the shinobi forces, for Kumo. She had been such for five years, raising her skills until she was at the level of a very high chunin, with only lack of experience keeping her from being jonin material. It was a technique that Kumo used, not allowing their genin to go to the Chunin exams for a few years, letting them get stronger, so that Kumo would look all that much better when they do eventually enter.

Samui was a fair-skinned woman of tall stature, with a stoic and aloof expression on her face. She had blue eyes and straight, blonde hair framing her face cut in an asymmetrical bob style with the front bangs reaching her shoulders. She wore a very low-cut outfit which displayed her sizeable cleavage, with mesh armour underneath, a short skirt and red hand guards, finishing the outfit with high boots (1). Her tanto sheath was strapped horizontally across her lower back.

As she was finishing the first set of exercises, she finally noticed that there was somebody watching her, sitting down on a set of steps leading up to a mountain. While she was by no means a natural, she was one of the strongest genin sensor in Kumo, as she had undergone specific training to be as such since before she had graduated, knowing that sensors were more valuable to their villages, as well as more useful during missions. As such, she was able to see this person had an almost disturbing amount of chakra, so much so that it was shocking she hadn't noticed it before, around as much as her sensei, until it suddenly disappeared, lowering down to the level of a chunin.

_'So that's why I didn't notice him, he was suppressing his chakra, which means that he either slipped in his control, or he intentionally revealed himself. And if he did that, then he must want something.'_ Surmised Samui to herself, before seeming to relax, though she kept her blade in her hand, and her muscles tense.

"May I help you?" She asked of her visitor as she studied him.

The stranger was a rather handsome male, if she were so inclined to admit as much. He was a tall man, being around an inch or two taller than she was, seeming to be about her age, with bright, electric blue eyes, neon yellow hair, a rather angular face, marred by what appeared to be six scars, three on each cheek. His clothing was the strangest hodgepodge of international garments, consisting of the light grey flak jacket of Konoha ANBU, the forest green kimono worn by Kiri hunter-nin, which he wore open, a set of Haidate (2), from the samurai of Tetsu no kuni (Land of iron), on each of which was painted a sealing array, a black t-shirt, a pair of black samurai pants, black shinobi sandals, as well as a pair of kunai pouches on the back of his belt. On his left hip hung a Katana. She also noticed that he wasn't wearing a hitae-ate, which meant that he probably wasn't a shinobi. But then, how did he control his chakra so well?

"I see that you use a blade." He commented easily, mildly annoying Samui, before that was extinguished by her stoic nature.

"Yes, and so does pretty much everyone from Kumo, what is so special about me?" She enquired, getting a low chuckle from the blonde, who got up and began to walk towards her.

"Well, from what I hear, Samui-san, you're the student of the best Kenjutsu expert in Kumo, and I figured that he taught you a few things. And on that note, I'd like to challenge you to a spar." Replied the man, Samui raising an eyebrow at the fact he knew who she was, as she didn't have an entry in the Bingo book yet, and was only a genin.

"And how would you know who I am? You don't seem to be from any village, if those trophies of yours are anything to go by." She stated, giving a pointed glance at his ensemble.

"Trophies? I don't have any of my trophies on me." He stated, looking at himself as though checking to see if there was something he had forgotten, before realizing what she must have meant. "Do you mean the clothes?" He asked, chuckling. "They aren't trophies, they were given to me by friends of mine on my travels." explained the exceedingly mellow blonde.

_'But you do have trophies._' thought Samui to herself, catching his seeming slip of the tongue.

"Nevertheless, why would an unknown man wish to spar with me? If my sensei is of such interest to you, would you not rather face him? It's not cool to go after me to get to him." She stated. She wasn't trying to avoid the fight, she was simply curious as to his goals, and what her part in them was.

"Oh, I would love to face off against your master, but I'm nowhere near his level, and I have no desire to be stabbed full of electrified toothpicks while he 'raps'." came his chuckled response, though he did shiver at that last part, having been present for one of the man's public performances.

"You have yet to explain as to why you wish to fight me." pointed out Samui, wishing he'd either finally get to the point, or go away, so that she could get back to training, since the chunin exams were three months away. Not to mention that they were in Konoha this time, so she had to be extra sharp to show that Konoha genin were nothing but children playing at ninja.

"I haven't?" He asked, surprised, before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Mifune-sensei always did say that I talk too much. I remember one time...and I'm rambling again. Anyways, I want to fact against you to see how I measure up. You're the best student of the best Kumo swordsman, so I figured that you'd be a good match. If I win, I'll go and challenge someone else. Maybe Darui-san, his bingo book entry said he had a rather interesting blade." He rambled, his eyes glinting when he mentioned Darui's sword. "I digress, but the reason I want to fight you is simple. you use a sword."

"That is it, that's the only reason?" She asked, slightly incredulously.

"But of course, if I'm to be the best in the world, then I have to beat everyone, don't I?" He asked with a very serious expression, completely out of the blue, actually managing to get an incredibly out of character response from Kumo's Genin definition of stoicism.

"Wha-?"

"I wish to be the best swordsman in the world." He answered seriously, startling her slightly with his seemingly rapid mood swings, as his serious expression morphed back into his easy going one, but she was not fooled anymore. She knew this easygoing man meant every word.

"That's cool, but if we are to do this, then may I at least know your name?"

"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." Said the now identified blonde, before he slammed his hand on the ground, a black sealing matrix appearing, and encircling the two of them, before fading away, though not disappearing.

"What was that?" Demanded the kumo genin, as she fell into a combat stance, before realizing that she couldn't mold chakra. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing. I simply made it so that no one could use chakra in a ten meter radius of where I'm standing. That should cover this little platform, no? If you don't believe me, then you are free to leave."

"That wasn't very cool. Why would you do such a thing?" She enquired, thinking that this Naruto had just as much of a disadvantage as she did,_ if_ he was affected like she was.

"Because I don't want to fight a shinobi." He stated. "I want to fight a swordsman." He finished, drawing his katana.

"And why wouldn't you want to fight as a 'shinobi'? If that little display of Fuinjutsu is any guarantee, then you are obviously dangerous." Said Samui, as she and Naruto faced off against one another on the platform, Samui holding her tanto in a reverse grip in he right hand, the back of the blade running along her forearm, both of her fists level with her mouth, with her right hand in front, her legs spread to give her a steady stance.

Naruto, on the other hand, was in a modified gedan stance, with both hands on the hilt of his katana, the top of his right hand wrapped firmly around the part just below the tsuba, with his left held loosely around the pommel, his hands level with his pelvis, the tip of the blade around an inch off the ground, his left foot in front of him and pointing at his opponent, with his right foot behind him and pointing to his left.

"Because even shinobi who are masters of the blade wont hesitate to resort to ninjutsu if given the chance." Replied Naruto seriously, before he brought his katana blade side up, attempting a rising slash, which was dodged by Samui, who had spun clockwise, in order to bring the point of her tanto around to stab him.

Dodging by stepping back, Naruto quickly brought his sword around, defecting her follow up attempt to rake her blade across his chest. He then began to spin his weapon, arms close to his body, down behind his right shoulder, up in front of him, down to his left, up in front, down to his right, up in front, forcing her to dodge the onslaught, until he surprised her by turning as he brought his blade up one last time, turned his back to her, bringing the blade down in the opposite direction, and using the momentum to stab it at her from between his left elbow and his rib cage, actually managing to cut her right side, which, while not life threatening, was still rather painful. He then wind-milled the blade to bring the sword full circle again to bring it down in a slash aimed at her head, which she blocked, further aggravating the injury.

Angling her blade, Naruto's katana then slid down it, making his sword impact the ground, as she switched to a normal grip on her tanto, and tried to bring it across his neck. Astonishingly, Naruto released the hold his left hand had on the katana, bringing it up with his right, blocking her strike with the pommel, before using her own attack to enhance the momentum of his, slashing at her neck, only to sever a few strands of hair as he jumped back.

Their spar went on for a full twenty minutes, Naruto managing to score several more hits, while only taking one in return.

_'He's good. Considering that they way he was talking about shinobi, he probably isn't one, though he does know fuinjutsu, which is regarded as the most dangerous of the shinobi arts. He most likely dedicates all his time to his sword, meaning he probably has little to no formal shinobi training. This little spar is getting pretty cool. I wonder which one of us would win were we to go all out.'_ Thought Samui to herself, actually getting a little hot under the collar. While she did love her village, and being a shinobi, one of the main reasons that she had become a shinobi was to use a blade. She had always loved them, hearing stories about the romanticism of them from her ex-samurai father, hearing tales about how he'd seen people cut mountains in half, how one of his friends could make a cut so clean that you wouldn't even know you were decapitated until a gentle gust of wind pushed your head off, of people who were so graceful that they literally danced around a battlefield with their sword, how some were so fast that they could draw their blade, carve a statue of themselves from a block of marble, and sheath it while your eyes were closed during a blink. But considering the fact that all samurai were men, and her own natural patriotism, she had instead become a shinobi.

Due to her fascination with swords, and it was only a matter of time for her to develop a liking for swordsmen. Unfortunately, the only ones who were any good were either too old for her tastes or just plain wierd, and the ones her age were all weaker than her. Then comes this Naruto and not only is he able to easily keep up with her, but was actually winning, not to mention the fact he was also her age!

"Would it be cool for us to go all out?" She asked, referring to the use of chakra.

Nodding with a sigh after a second of thought, Naruto sheathed his katana, and backed towards the edge of the 'chakra free zone', an interested Samui watching the entire time. Kneeling down and examining the circle, Naruto eventually smiled, and smudged one of the kanji, the rest glowing and disappearing afterwards, Samui once again feeling her chakra when he was finished.

"One would only be able to disrupt it by that specific kanji, or with a powerful enough area of affect attack, otherwise some rather bad things would happen." He explained cordially at her interested expression.

"You gave that information away rather easily." She noted, the blonde once again rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, maybe, but it's not like you could do anything with that information. I mean, I doubt you saw which one I actually smudged, and unless you attack me somewhere else in the world, I'm probably not going to use this on you again if I win." He stated, sending the Katana to the seal on his left thigh, simultaneously drawing a sword from his right.

This sword was unlike any Samui had ever seen before; it being a long, thin sword with no curve whatsoever, and a double sided blade. The entire thing looked to be one solid piece of dark brown metal, lacking a guard, with a cloth wrapped hilt, and a large green crystal at the end.

As he brandished this new sword, fire suddenly appeared flowing around it, making beautiful patterns, the red, orange and yellow growing in volume, before it all suddenly disappeared.

"Do you like my trophy?" Asked Naruto, referencing their earlier conversation, before he once again burst into action, bringing the blade down in a one handed downwards chop, which Samui blocked, only to immediately regret the decision, as a burst of fire rained down on her, lightly burning her face, clothes and hair for less than a second, before she kicked him away, jumping back to escape.

_'NOT COOL! Is he _trying_ to kill me?_' She questioned in her mind, only to gape like a fish when she saw the large molten notch in her tanto.

Seeing that kenjutsu wouldn't work, she then began going though hand-signs, only for Naruto to blur in front of her, forcing her to duck as he attempted a horizontal strike, feeling the heat of the flames that appeared around the blade.

"How is that for all out?" Questioned the smug blonde

"How did you do that? No one on the planet is able to use **katon** (Fire style) to such an extent! Is it a kekkei genkai?" She asked, knowing that except for maybe a few high level techniques, you couldn't actually control a katon jutsu after it had left the body. To control fire to such an extent was unheard of.

"I don't really know." He admitted, shrugging as she uncharacteristically face-faulted. "It's actually the ability of my sword. By channeling chakra through it, I'm able to create and control fire. I'm not completely sure what else it does, if anything, since I killed the last guy who had it, but that's a story for another time. Now, let's do this!" Shouted the blonde man, raising the sword into a hasso stance, his left foot forward, the blade pointing up, with the hilt just in front of his right shoulder.

Seeing this, Samui once again took up a sturdy stance, only this time, instead of holding it to her side in a reverse grip, she shifted her body to the side, body facing towards Naruto's right, her right foot pointing towards him, her left hand behind with her right holding her tanto with it pointing at Naruto at shoulder height.

Both knowing that this would be the final exchange, Samui drawing her tanto and channeling her chakra through her blade, before hesitating as she saw Naruto's eyes glow red. They didn't turn red, but rather glowed. As unnerving as this was, they just as quickly returned to their normal blue, though she was immediately on guard, before watching as Naruto's blade produce fire, the flames converging on the eldge of the blade, glowing an unnerving white.

_'Is he really trying to kill me?'_ Wondered Samui, before the two of them blurred forward, both swinging their swords faster than most could see, ending up ten feet apart, backs towards one another, before Samui's tanto fell to pieces, and already cauterized wounds appeared on the backs of both her hands, on each of her thighs, one on her stomach, one on her collar-bone, and one on her left cheek.

Turning, she noticed that Naruto didn't have so much as a paper-cut from the clash, before she collapsed.

"H-how are you not even injured? I know that I hit you!" She demanded, throwing the useless hilt of the tanto into the lake surrounding them.

"Genjutsu." He replied easily, getting a wry grin from Samui, before she took his hand, which he had extended to help her up.

When she was fully up, she tightened her grip on his hand, before grabbing his collar with the other, and bringing him in for a kiss.

While surprised at first, the fact that he was a teenager quickly caught up with Naruto, and he started kissing her back, wrapping his arms around her waist, as she connected her hands behind his neck.

After round thirty seconds, Samui broke the kiss, and told the blonde male, "Meet me at the gates at seven P.M. You're taking me on a date tonight. Someplace formal!" Before walking away up the stairs.

Dazed from the sudden kiss, it took him a few seconds to actually register what she had said, and, not against it or anything, asked, "Don't I have a say in this?"

"No!" Came the shouted reply, as the girl walked away, slightly limping from the pain of her injuries, before disappearing over the lip of the cliff.

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Was Originally Going To Stop The Chapter Here.

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Kumo's Main Gate

Arriving a few minutes early, Naruto could do nothing but fidget, remembering the advice of a few of his teachers that an angry woman was the scariest thing on the planet, and so had decided to show up, rather than skip town, not to mention the fact he was a hot-blooded teen, as well as the several dozen other potential opponents in the village.

_'Why haven't I come here before again?'_ Wondered Naruto to himself, before remembering and shivering. _'Oh yeah, that's why.'_

Shaking off the horrifying thoughts of rabid monkeys and men in garter belts (3), his thoughts drifted to the reason he was standing where he was, when he was; Samui. He had never been on a date before, as his ronin-esque lifestyle had prevented such a thing, and knowing that he and the girl could never really be anything more than friends, as it would be unfair to start a relationship, only to leave, he wondered about why he was doing this, until he remembered he didn't want to make her angry.

"I was sort of expecting you to not show." Came the subject of his thoughts voice, causing him to look to where the voice came from, only for his jaw to nearly dislocate, along with that of pretty much every other male there, including the gate guards.

Tonight, she was clad in a spaghetti strapped black sleeveless dress, skin-tight and going down to mid-thigh, it had a somewhat conservative neckline, meaning that it showed less cleavage than her regular outfit, other than that, she wasn't any different, her hair still in its bob, and she wasn't wearing any make-up or perfume. She did however have several bandages wrapped around the places that he'd cut her, with one pasted on her cheek, and one on her collarbone.

"I feel slightly under-dressed." Confessed Naruto, clad in a dark red dress shirt, with a black tie and slacks, as well as shiny leather dress shoes. He hadn't really done anything else, other than a shower right before hand, his hair still a rat's nest, and his body free of cologne. He also had a slender wrapped package beneath one arm that she was curious about, but figured that he'd tell her eventually. He'd only actually been hit once by his now date, and he'd already healed from it.

"I think you look nice. Now, where are we going?" She questioned, getting a sigh from her date, him offering her his arm, which she took, linking her elbow around his, as he lead her through the village.

After about a five minute walk, the two blondes stopped in front of a rather high-end resaurant. It wasn't exactly the creme of the crop, but Samui was thankful for that, as the only ones who went there were stuffy nobles and rich merchants. This place was a shinobi-run place, serving meals specifically designed with low fat and high nutrition and energy, with a mostly shinobi clientele. Though in all honesty, it was actually three resauraunts in one, with three sections sharing a kitchen, with entrances that you went through dependant on your income level, with the door they stood in front of the most expensive and highest quality, reserved for those who took regular A-rank, or survived an S-rank. it was a place where shinobi would get a taste of the highlife every now and then, before they got back to their rough and tumble occupation.

"How did you get a reservation here?" Asked Samui, knowing that, as a genin, she wouldn't really be able to afford a meal here for another few years.

"I bribed the matradee." He explained casually, as the two of them were seated at a table near a window on a mezzanine, a door leading to a balcony a few feet to the right of the table, and ordered their food, Naruto placing the package on the table to his right.

"What is this?" Asked Naruto after the two of them received their drinks, slightly startling his companion, before she gained a small smile, which had him forcing down a small blush.

"Dinner."

"No, I mean what are we doing here, and if you say eating then I'm leaving."

"It's a date." She answered with a sigh, having expected this to come up at some point.

"And why would you want to date me? I'm obviously not from your village, so I'll eventaully leave, I've known you for less than twelve hours as of now, and I kicked your ass within an hour of us meeting."

"I like strong men. Even better, I like strong swordsmen. The fact of the matter is that you're the only one my age who can soundly beat me in a spar. The only other people who can do that are either twice my age, or insufferable. The fact that you're not from this village isn't all that big a deal considering the fact that you aren't a shinobi, and about you leaving? I didn't ask for a relationship, just a date." She explained, Naruto seeming to accept the answer. The two of them then lapsed into a pleasant rapport over the appetizers.

During a pleasant debate about which element was best to enhanse shuriken with before throwing them, Naruto glanced out of a window, raising his eyebrow at the sight that greeted him.

"Ne, Samui-san. Would you happen to know a dark skinned girl with red hair and yellow eyes, and a dark skinned boy with pure white hair who likes suckers?"

"Y-yeah." She answered, slightly surprised, before becoming suspicious. "They are my teammates, Karui and Omooi. How is it that you know their descriptions, and not their names?"

Once agin glancing out the window, Naruto plaintively sipped his drink before nodding his head towards said window. Confused, she looked out, and almost flinched, seeing that the two of them were on the balcony outside, with Karui litterally pressing her face against the window, her gaze going back and forth between the two blondes.

"Who the fuck is that guy, and why do you look like hell?" Questioned the red-head loud enough to be heard through the reinforced glass, the other shinobi in the restaurant glancing towards them, before resuming their meals.

_'I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill them.'_ Came the extremely annoyed mantra through Samui's head, as she stood up, and went out onto the balcony to confront her team.

"What the hell are the two of you doing here? It's not cool of you to follow me around." She demanded of the two of them, Omooi immediately asking questions that quickly spiraled into the absurd, which were aimed more at himself than anything, before he was smacked on the back of the head by Karui.

"What if that guy's actually a spy, and he's just dating you so he can get close to me, that way he can learn my cool moves, and-**WHAM**."

"Shut up, Omooi! Who the hell is that, Samui?" She demanded, ignoring Samui's earlier question.

"He's my date. Now, what are you two doing here?"

"Your date? Your DATE? When the fuck did you start dating, and why the fuck haven't we met this asshole?" Demanded the red-head, her voice rising as she went on.

"Because I just met him today. And before you say anything, no. He didn't ask me out, I asked him. He came up to me earlier, and asked for a spar. I accepted, and he won, easily." Explained Samui, getting incredulous looks from her teammates.

"He beat you? And YOU asked HIM out? Why the fuck would you do that? Don't you know he could be an enemy shinobi? Don't you know that he could be a spy? A thief? A rapist? You don't start a relationship with a person who beat your ass!" Began the redhead, before a very weird thought popped into her head.

_'Unless you're into that sort of thing. (4)'_

"Why the hell would you do such a thing?" Demanded Karui, finishing off her rant.

"I asked him out for reasons of my own, and I'm not looking for a relationship, just a date. Besides, I didn't know that I had to tell you every little fact about my life." Samui told the girl icily, causing the redhead to visibly swallow on nothing.

"W-whatever. Just so you know, I'm going to tell Kirabi-sensei about this." Said Karui matter-of-factly, as she grabbed her yammering-prone comrade by the collar, and disappeared.

"You do that." Murmured Samui to herself, as she walked back into the restaurant, and took her seat.

"Do you think she knew I could hear her?" Asked Naruto, highly uncomfortable about the insinuations the girl had made about him.

"It's cool, Karui's that way with everybody at first." Responded the blonde female.

"She did raise some cogent points. I'll respect your privacy, but I do want to know why you told me to take you someplace formal." Stated the whiskered teen, earning a raised brow from his date, before a mischievous thought popped into her head.

"Is it wrong for a girl to want to be pampered every now and again?" She asked with an innocent voice, tilting her head to the side slightly and leaning forwards a little.

At this, Naruto quickly spun around to face the opposite direction, a massive blush covering his face at how cute she looked (with a few other males on the mezzanine shooting back from nosebleeds). Turning back a few seconds later, still blushing slightly, he missed the triumphant smirk that had crossed her features.

"It's just that you don't really seem like that kind of girl." He answered honestly, a pissing off Samui.

"Oh?" She asked dangerously, "And what exactly kind of girl do I seem like?"

"A kunoichi." Said Naruto without hesitation, hiding his blind panic behind an expressionless mask, Samui's anger disappearing in understanding.

"Ah, cool. Well, there's no reason a kunoichi can't be pampered, now is there?"

"I suppose not." Acquiesced the blonde male, before returning to his meal.

"By the way, what's in the package?" Asked Samui after a few minutes of silence, pointing her knife at the object, which had been just sitting there the entire time.

"Oh that! Thank you for reminding me, I had honestly forgotten all about that." He said, more to himself than to her. "Its actually something for you. I thought you'd like it since I destroyed your tanto earlier today." He finished, pushing said package over to her, to which Samui put down her silverware, and began to unwrap it.

After all the brown paper had been torn off, she then opened the box, revealing a beautiful tanto. This tanto, however, was entirely black, from its sheath, to its pommel, to its blade. It was a bit longer than her now destroyed one, being almost long enough to be considered a wakizashi, though it was roughly the same weight.

"It's beautiful. How did you get it, and why are you giving it to me?" She questioned, not understanding why he'd give something so obviously valuable to someone he'd just met.

"I got it from a rather foulmouthed Iwa missing nin in Kubi no kuni (Land of neck). The reason I'm giving it to you? Well, to be honest, I'm not really a fan of the short blades. I prefer those with a little more reach and weight to them. I'd rather you'd have it, since you'd actually use it. And, uh...I'm sorry about destroying your old one." Explained Naruto, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of his head when he was finished.

"...Thank you." Came the whisper, so low that Naruto almost didn't catch it.

"It's no problem. Now, what were we talking about? Oh yeah! **Futon** (Wind) chakra, while it doesn't paralyze or speed up the shuriken, would be able to cut them in half without touching them if you put enough into it, not to mention that you wouldn't need to speed it up if you were skilled enough." He told her, getting a grin, the awkwardness of Karui and Omooi's visit behind them.

"Yes, but you'd either have to have extremely high quality ones, or chakra conducting ones. Standard issue shuriken couldn't hold that much, and it would destroy itself. **Raiton** (lightling) cause the shuriken to go faster than without, as well as the paralyzing effects. Add to that the iron of the shuriken allowing you to pump in more, and the fact that **raiton** could stop the target's heart, and you've got yourself a winner." She continued the debate, the two of them once again lapsing into a rather nice rapport.

However, after the two of them had eaten, and all that lay before them was a cup of coffee and a small dessert each, she asked the question that had been bothering her all day.

"How were you able to defeat me so easily?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto quickly sighed, and placed his coffee back onto the table.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked, sighing again as the attractive woman next to him nodded. "It's because of my Kekkei Genkai." He said, holding up a hand to silence any questions she might have. "No, it doesn't control fire, or any of the other elements, I wasn't lying when I told you that it was the sword that did that. No, my Kekkei Genkai is a Doujutsu (Eye technique). It's kinda like a mix between the **Sharingan** and **Byakugan,** and as far as I know, I'm the first to have it. With it, I can see long distances, I can cast genjutsu that fool even the **Byakugan,** I get analytical abilities like the Sharingan, allowing me to guess what you're going to do next, and a few other things." He admitted, smiling sheepishly at the girl.

"Amazing...though, I can't help but notice that you're rather prone to giving out information that would be best kept under wraps." Samui told him after a few moments of silence, thinking about what to do with this information.

_'I could just let him go, but that might make Raikage-sama upset with me. I could tell Kirabi-sensei, and he'll tell Raikage-sama, and they'll probably arrest him to harvest his eyes and sperm. I could convince him to stay here, but if he does, he'd be ordered to impregnate as many women as possible, so that there's a higher chance of him to pass on the ability.'_ She mused, before a small voice in the back of her head said something that had her blushing. _'Maybe you can be one of them.'_

"Yeah, probably. I wasn't trained to be a shinobi, and I guess I can consider you a friend, and I'm not all that good a liar when it comes to my friends." Responded the blonde male, not seeing her blushing as he was rubbing the back of his head with his eyes closed with a nervous smile.

_'Hm, I don't see as to why not. He is rather handsome, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him. Not to mention that with his Doujutsu and his massive chakra reserves, any child he fathered could be as powerful as the Uchiha were. And with his Kenjutsu he'd be a rather fun sparring partner, and his skills in Fuinjutsu are better than anyone in the village, after Miwa-sama died sealing the Nibi into Yugito-sama. Then there's his collection of blades. If that fire sword and the tanto he gave me are just a couple of his "trophies", then what other ones do those seals of his contain? The only downside is the fact of how young the both of us are. Then again, since he isn't a shinobi he'd be able to stay home with the children.'_ So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even realize that Naruto was trying to get her attention until he started snapping his fingers an inch away from her eyes. As she was startled out of her thoughts, her shinobi training kicked in, and she grabbed his arm, and tried to put it in some form of lock, only for her date to wrench it from her grasp with a surprising amount of strength.

"Damn, Samui-san, I'm sorry!" Said Naruto, cradling his hand in mock hurt, as a pouting expression crossed his face.

"I apologize, Naruto-kun." She told him, causing him to raise his eyebrow at the sudden affectionate term. "I was caught up in my thoughts, and you startled me. It wasn't cool of me to react the way I did. And please, call me Samui-chan." She finished, beginning her plan to get the blonde to stay in Kumo, though she tried not to add 'with me' to that statement.

With that, the two of them finished the meal. Afterwards, Samui showed Naruto around Kumo, until it was late enough that she figured it was time to go home, her arm linked with Naruto's the entire way.

When the two of them had reached the entrance to her apartment building, they halted.

"Well-Samui-chan, I had a lot of fun. We'll have to do this again sometime." Stated Naruto, not really expecting another after what Samui told him at the beginning.

"Yes we will." She replied, mustering the courage to do what she was about to. Seeing the blonde male walk away, she stopped him by wrapping a hand around his wrist. "You know, there's one more thing that we still need to do."

"Wha-" began the blue eyed man, before he was silenced by a kiss from the blonde bombshell.

Like the first time, he was startled at first, before he once again got into it, kissing her back with just as much passion. After a few seconds, he started getting bold, hoisting her left leg up, and pinning her against the door.

_'Damn, he's good at this!'_

_'Damn, she's good at this!'_

However, the kiss eventually had to end, no matter how much neither really wanted to (though one of them tried to deny that fact). Samui then opened the door to her apartment complex after Naruto released her leg, but before she entered, she told him, "Saturday, same time, somewhere normal this time, I'll be waiting at the front gate," before she entered, leaving Naruto there with a goofy smile and slightly sore lips.

After about five minutes of him just standing there, he finally regained his bearings enough, he told the empty air that 'I'll be there' and walked back to the hotel he rented for his stay, whistling the entire way.

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And that's the end of the chapter!

Naruto is sixteen, and Samui is seventeen, while Sasuke, Sakura, and them are all cannon ages. This chapter has taken place between Graduation, and the Mission To Wave.

Yes, I haven't given you any back story, or anything like that. That was intentional to allow me to put in flashbacks later on.

BTW, no, Naruto is not a shinobi in this, or at the very least, he considers himself a swordsman first.

DAMN IT! My chapter lengths suck lately! What the hell happened to me getting eight thousand in a chapter? Now I'm lucky if I get six thousand! my longest chapter lately was the first chapter for The Fire Brothers, and you guys don't even care about that, you're reading Naruto, not Fairy Tail. Hell, A Fox And A Cat Make What? is two chapters, and it's still shorter than this! I don't even know why I'm putting this here. Maybe it's just to vent, or some pathetic need for attention...Fuck me dude.

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1: She's still a genin at this point, so she doesn't have the flak jacket yet.

2: If you look at a picture of a generic Naruto Samurai, it is the lowest part of the light grey armor which covers the thighs, where the sheaths to their wakizashi are.

3: Don't worry, I will be explaining this reference later.

4: It's a spanking joke.

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Guess the Quote:

I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we're gonna hurt some people.

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Stay tuned for the next chapter of The Elemental Swordsman: A Wave Goodbye.

This concludes experiment log no. 3597


	2. A Wave Goodbye

Hello everyone, Williamgbirkin here to bring you The Elemental Swordsman's second chapter!

Chapter starts out with a rather long flashback, hope you don't mind.

My friend **Yoh Narukami** has recently asked me to help him get more readers, since after a few months of absence, he lost a few. he has several Fairy Tail stories, most of which are NatsuxErza, one is a harem, and one is NatsuxJuvia. He also has a RWBY one, but I don't know what that is. Please read and review his fics!

For some reason, I feel like there's something rather major I missed, but I'm posting this anyways.

IT'S OVER TEN THOUSAND!

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**Black Artist - Alucard Masters**: Thank you, but, experiment?

**fuertespedos10**: Sorry, but I don't really plan on all that much bashing. I honestly do that too much in my other stories as is. And as I say repeatedly, I want all of my stories to be monogamous. Except maybe A Fox And A Cat Make What?, but that's another deal.

**ultima-owner**: Yep, and you're the first to answer correctly!

**Mystolon**: I read a story once where it said that Naruto put raiton in a kunai and it went off like a lightning bolt. So I figured a shuriken would do the same thing. Also, wind would only increase the speed of kunai if it's used after the person has thrown them, rather than by channeling wind chakra through them.

**plums**: I really hope that I don't disappoint you, and I was planning a flashback ever few chapters. I'm actually starting this chapter with one, and then getting into the action.

**NAFNAF508**: It honestly didn't seem OP to me, until you metioned it. Damn.

**Frost Metal 0-1**: Thank you.

**insanemaelstorm**: T-Thank you!

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"Jutsu": Human Speech

_'Jutsu'_: Human Thought

**"Jutsu":** Demon/Summon Speech

**_'Jutsu'_**: Demon/Summon Thought

**"Jutsu"**: Jutsu

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After about five minutes of just standing there, he finally regained his bearings enough, told the empty air that 'I'll be there', and walked back to the hotel he had rented for his stay, whistling the entire way.

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A noticeably younger Naruto, maybe ten or eleven, walked the woods, missing the Konoha Anbu flak jacket, as well as the kiri hunter-nin kimono, but he did have the samurai haidate, and the plain katana in his belt. As he went, he couldn't help but glance back towards the three men following him, two wearing the full body set of armor, siginifying they were part of Tetsu no kuni's samurai, with the third man being his sensei.

The third man was easily identifiable, being a man with long, waist length silver hair, heavy wrinkles beneath his black eyes, with a thin beard an goatee. For clothing he had a full dark grey body suit, with darker grey gloves, sandals, and bandages wrapped around his head. Atop that, he wore a more traditional armor, with a chest-plate, and segmented shoulder, leg, and crotch guards. He wore a cloth belt, with a pouch on the back, and a beautiful katana on his right hip.

"Ne, Mifune-sensi, where are we going again?" asked the blonde, turning around to look back at the three men again, seeing the indulgent smile on his master's face as he walked backwards.

"Well, kohai. As I said before we left, and an hour after that...and an hour after that...and after that...we are headed to Takumi village, the village of artisans, in order to get more weapons for the new trainees." Responded Mifune, his apprentice rubbing the back of his head sheepishly in response, turning to face front again.

"How come that kid isn't wearing the initiate's attire?" Asked one of the samurai, named Meiyo, to the other, completely confused with the situation, as he stared at the blonde boy about a dozen yards in front of them, the two generic samurai trailing about five yards behind their leader.

"Don't you know? That child is Mifune-sama's disciple. He isn't going to join our order, he's just learning how to use the sword." wondered the taller and stockier one, who's name was Kentei.

"What? Is he allowed to do that? Or even better, why would he do that?"

"Of course he is, he's Mifune-sama. He can do whatever the hell he wants. Even the kages don't piss him off. As to why, I'm don't know if it's the whole story, but from what I can tell, Mifune-sama went to Konohagakure no sato, and found him. From what I hear he had just entered the village, when he heard a rather loud commotion. He followed the noise, and BOOM! he finds the kid. Now, he's in an alleyway, surrounded by a bunch of drunks, with several more bleeding to death on the ground. This little four or maybe five year old kid has this dinky little piece of shit tanto, completely rusted through, wouldn't weed a damn garden with the thing. So, there he is, watching this brat fight off grown men, and winning, though to be fair, they were all tossed, and none of them had anything more than a rock, or maybe a broken bottle. Little bastard's eyes are glowing like the fires of hell and fighting for his life. Before you know it, Mifune-sama's killed them all, and offered the gaki a place as his apprentice. From what I hear, Hokage-sama didn't want to let him go, but Mifune-sama threatened to not let any Konoha shinobi in Tetsu no kuni anymore, and he had to." Said the more informed of the two.

"Why didn't the Third want to let the kid go?" asked the instigator.

"No idea. Wait, how is it that you don't know all this?"

"I uh...I'm new."

"Oh. Well congratulations on passing your ordeal." Stated the senior samurai, slapping his new comrade on the back.

"Thank you, I had to work hard, but I-" Aquieseced the junior, before being interrupted by their commander.

"Enough you two! Naruto, come back here." Ordered Mifune.

"HAI, MIFUNE-SAMA!" Shouted the two grunts, as they positioned themselves exactly five feet behind, and to the side of the samurai leader, as Naruto stopped completely, waiting until he was about two feet behind, and to the right of Mifune to continue walking.

The reason for this new seriousness being the fact that they were coming up upon the village, a rather picturesque place, several one story houses, smoke pouring out of chimneys, a town square, a market, all the standard things. It did, however, have at least ten smithies. The whole village was surrounded by a ten foot tall solid wood wall, with a single gate that was about ten feet across, and completely covered the road.

"HALT! WHO'S THERE?" Came the shouted question from atop the wall.

"I am Mifune of Tetsu no Kuni! I've come to honor a deal between myself, and the leader of your village!" Shouted the samurai leader, halting ten yards away from the gate.

Seeing the guard on top of the wall conversing with someone below, Naruto couldn't help but ask his master a question.

"Wouldn't you coming here be rather big news, sensei?"

"More than likely, but it's all procedural." responded the old Samurai, waiting for a response, which came about two minutes later.

"Welcome Mifune-sama! Our leader says that you can come in. Lodging has been prepared for you should you wish to stay the night, and your subordinates shall be allowed to wander anywhere that isn't off limits."

"Thank you, the three of you may do as you like, I must meet up with Kosho-dono to finalize our deal. When you are finished, return to the hotel."

"Hai!" Responded the three of them, before the two Samurai went directly to the hotel, Naruto immediately going over to watch some people make weapons.

As the boy walked up to a random man in front of an anvil, he couldn't help but stare. It was enthralling, seeing the man pound the metal into shape, slowly loosing it's red glow, before seeing the steam let out as it was dunked into a barrel of water. Placing the metal back into the fire, he began to pump at a bellows, causing the fire the become bigger and hotter.

"What do you want, brat?" questioned the man, not even turning around to speak to him.

"Umm...I, uh, I just wanted to watch someone make something." Stuttered Naruto, before the man motioned for him to come forward.

"Help me out here, brat. Take the handle of these bellows, an start pumping, use strong pumps rather than fast ones. Don't stop until I tell you." Commanded the smith, before taking the piece of metal out the fire, Naruto continuing to pump since he hadn't been told to stop. This process continued, with the smith pounding on the metal, sticking it into the water, placing it into the fire, and taking it out to beat it with a hammer again. Over time, the piece of metal took shape into a garden hoe. During the entire process, Naruto only ever stopped pumping to take off some of his clothes, and put more wood into the fire.

Once it was finished, the man placed the gardening tool on a stack of like parts, ready to be attached to wooden poles, and sold in markets, before grabbing another semi-finished hoe, and starting all over again.

Three hours later, the both of them wearing nothing but their pants, sweating like pigs, began to wash off in a water trough, as the smith questioned the blonde child.

"So, who are you, and what are ya doing in the village? Cause I know everyone who lives here, and you don't fit in that category." asked the man gruffly, as he pulled a cigar out of seemingly nowhere, and snapped his fingers, igniting his thumb like a lighter, before using it on the cigar, and shaking out the

"Umm...I'm here with Mifune-sensei. He's the general of Tetsu no kuni. We're here to pick up weapons for the initiates." Responded Naruto, getting a frown from the smith.

"General? Initiates? Is that what you shinobi types call academy students and kage nowadays? You know, those weapons of yours, kunai and such, started as gardening and masonry tools, before you bastards perverted their use from harvesting rice to harvesting lives. And you, you're what, ten? What are you doing with armor and a weapon. Shouldn't you be playing peekaboo with your friends or something?" Demanded the man, inhaling deeply from his cigar, before exhaling heavily, uncaring of the fact that he did so almost directly into Naruto's face.

"Actually, Tetsu no kuni doesn't have any shinobi. Mifune-sensei commands samurai. We use swords, and chakra." Responded Naruto, mildly shocking the man.

"Really now? I used to forge weapons for you guys. Got sick of it, decided to go back to nice, _innocent,_ gardening tools." commented the artisan, emphasizing the word innocent.

"I don't see why you're being so mean." Pouted Naruto, earning a grumble from the smith.

"I just don't like the way children are forced to be soldiers. Samurai at least have honor, only going into combat when they're adults. But shinobi, they start when they're twelve. Though, I guess that's no longer the case. Tell me, how many lives have you taken?" Demanded the smith, fixing Naruto with a stern look, as the blonde boy blanched at the acusation.

"None! I'm just here because my sensei said it would be good experience to meet the people who make weapons for us!" yelled Naruto at the artisan, before he walked away, making his way towards the hotel.

"It's only a matter of time until you do! Then you'll be sorry you ever picked up a blade!" Shouted the man at Naruto's back, unsettling the boy, and giving him something to think about.

At the hotel, Naruto wasn't all that surprised to see that his sensei had already returned. He was surprised, however, in the fact that Mifune didn't have a scroll, or anything of that nature on him.

"Ah, Naruto. We've been asked to do a favor for Takumi." Stated the elder Samurai, surprising Naruto, though he guessed his sensei had already told the other two, since they showed no sign of surprise.

"Did something happen?" Asked Naruto, slightly worried.

"It seems that one of the shinobi of this village went rouge, and stole something from the village. Since this is a neutral village, they can't go to another village, as it would be seen as favoritism. He asked us to do this, since our country is neutral as well, as a show of good faith."

"I guess he wants us to bring it back." Surmised Kentei, only to get a shake of the head from his general.

"Hattori-dono said we may keep or destroy the blade, he does not care. He informed me that there are no shinobi skilled enough to use it in the village, except for Hoki-san, who fled with it." Mifune informed the group, but before anyone could respond.

**BOOM**

The sudden explosion immediately caused mass panic, as the three samurai and Naruto ran towards it, wondering what had happened, only for three people to jump out of the flames.

The first was a rather attractive woman, with green, chin length hair, with yellow bangs bordering her tear-drop shaped face, with pupil-less brown eyes. She was wearing a sleeveless fur lined purple trench coat, which split almost to her crotch at the bottom to allow freedom of movement, over a dark red strapless dress-shirt with a pair of belts to secure it to her body. Underneath that she had a pair of dark grey tights with shinobi sandals. On her right arm was what appeared to be a falconer's glove, while on her left she had an arm warmer with brown straps, with a purple glove. Her beige hitai-ate was almost completely covered by her hair, and rested high on her forehead.

The second was a slender boy, with green eyes that were outlined by blue eye-shadow. His blue hair slightly popped out of his white forehead protector, with the rest neatly combed throughout his head. Around his neck was a white scarf that reached down to his pants. He also wore a tight, grey shirt which was sleeveless, and that revealed his entire abdomen. On his arms were grey arm warmers with brown straps that secured them onto his arms. His grey baggy pants were fastened onto his body by a thick, brown belt. The lower part of his pants were tucked into his sandals. On his back was a sword which looked like the top part of a trident, if it were segmented, blue, and put on the hilt of a sword.

The third was a broadly built man, he wore a black coat over which was a set of armour which was designed with a silver tiger-like head breastplate and a pair of dark blue pauldrons. His eyes had small black pupils and wavy brown hair with a small beard. For a weapon, he carried a rather large mage. His beige hitai-ate was worn low, covering his eyebrows as well as part of the eyes themselves, though they seemed to have no effect on his vision.

Seeing the samurai, the three of them immediately scattered, hoping to throw them off the trail.

"Naruto, follow me! Kentei, you take the armored man, Meiyo, you take the boy, we'll follow the woman." Shouted Mifune, before they all left in pursuit of their target.

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Ryugan Vs Meiyo

"I was wondering who was following me. I guess that beggars can't be choosers, but I was hoping for something other than a grunt." Taunted the boy with the blue sword, after the two of them had run for about fifteen minutes.

_'This guy is really effeminate.'_ Mused the junior samurai to himself, before he drew two of his blades, and began to channel chakra through them.

"Oh? That's interesting." Mused the rouge shinobi, before he bowed to his opponent. "My name is Ryugan, and you have the honor of being the first to die by this blade in almost a century." Stated the blunette, before the three blades on his trident-esque sword began to break apart, wires holding the pieces together.

Weaving in and out of the whipping blades, Meiyo was unable to get close enough to strike at the missing artisan, and Ryugan was barely able to make a dent against the samurai due to his armor.

As the standoff went on for about five more minutes, Ryugan was finally able to get a lucky hit, scoring a blow at the weak part of the armor just below the armpit on the left side, drawing blood.

"I will not loose to you!" Yelled Meiyo, before remembering a technique that was taught to all samurai. Rushing towards the effeminate looking boy, the samurai skillfully deflected the tendrils of the Garian sword as best he could, though still getting cut, until he got what he deemed close enough. Stopping, he then focused more of his chakra into his wakizashi, before slashing both at Ryugan.

**"Issen** (Flash)" Shouted the rookie, an arc of chakra coming from each of his blades, catching the blunette off guard, allowing one of the tendrils to be cut off, the wire inside the blade being severed.

"Ha! Didn't think I could do that, did you?" Taunted the samurai, before being forced to dodge an attack.

"What have you done!?" Screamed the young blunette, wildly attacking Meiyo without any semblance of technique. "This is the sacred tool of Seimei-sama, and you've broken it!"

Dodging for his life, the young samurai was grateful for his armor, as it took most of the damage, though he was hit several times, drawing blood.

Quickly becoming exhausted Meiyo decided to put all his power into one last attack.

Stopping farther away than the tendrils reached, Meiyo sheathed one of his blades, focusing all the chakra he could into the other. He then bull rushed the boy, dodging and weaving the remaining two blades. When he was five yards away, however, he wasn't able to dodge as one of them pierced his hip.

"ARGH!"

"Well, you lasted longer than I thought you would, but it's time to finish this." Stated Ryugan, dragging the samurai closer.

This proved to be his downfall, however, as Meiyo poured all his chakra into one last attack.

**"ISSEN!"**

With the amount within the attack, as well as it's proximity, the missing nin had no chance to dodge, and attempting to block with his new weapon only resulted in the destruction of the green crystal at the pommel, as well as the total obliteration of one of the remaining blades, with the last being broken just like the first one, as well as the shredding of his own body.

"I win." Stated Meiyo, watching Ryugan bleed to death, before feeling the exhaustion of his own wounds and chakra usage, having just enough time to swallow a soldier pill and a couple of hemoglobin ones before he lost consciousness.

Having passed out, Meiyo didn't notice the now destroyed sword disappear.

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Suiko Vs Kentei

**SMASH**

Dodging once again, the senior samurai couldn't help but be annoyed by the fact that his chakra was slowly being absorbed by that damned armor.

"Give it up, Samurai-san. You cannot make it past my armor." Came the statement from the giant of a man.

**"Issei!"** Kentei fired off another attack, only for it to once again be absorbed into the armor.

"Pathetic! No one can get past my Infinity Armor, no one, your attacks are useless against it!" Shouted Suiko, before going off on a tangent about how no attack could get past his defense if they used chakra, talking on, and on, and on, and on.

As the man continued his monologue, Kentei simply rushed forwards once more, but instead of cutting the artisan ninja, he buried his wakizashi into the giants skull, directly into his left eye socket.

"Word of advice, armor only works if everything is covered. Oh, and don't yammer during a battle, it makes you look pretentious." Stated the senior Samurai, as he withdrew his wakizashi from Suiko's skull, wiped it off on the man's clothing, sheathed it, and walked off in search of his comrades, eventually finding Meiyo and dragging him back to town.

"Dumbass" muttered Kentei under his breath as he left Suiko behind in the clearing, not noticing the armor disappearing from the corpse behind him.

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Naruto, Mifune, And Hoki

Walking away from the almost brutalized corpse of Kujaku, the only female member of the celestial group cut in several pieces, the two swords completely destroyed as well, the green crystal in the hilt of the one cut in half.

The two swordsmen on the other hand, were walking away from the battle, without a scratch, not even winded. Mifune had simply told Naruto to hang back, before proceeding to decimate the woman, because while her equipment was exceptional, she was not. The two quickly made their way to what seemed to be a temple carved directly into the side of a cliff. The two of them weren't sure why Hoki was there, but with his eyes, Naruto could sense the man, and Naruto's eyes didn't lie. On the way, Mifune filled Naruto in on what exactly Hoki had stolen, as well as what it did.

Finally arriving at the temple gates, they were shocked to see the symbol of the hidden artisan village pretty much everywhere, with carvings of dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of different weapons, from the simple, to the complex, to the efficient, to the downright outrageous.

Entering, they realized that they were in a large pillar lined hall, all of it carved from the mountain, making it a combination of natural and man-made cave. Following the path of lit torches, they eventually came across Hoki, standing on an altar, using his Fire Sword to cut open a stone coffin.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, without even turning to look at the two. "This is the resting place of the greatest artisan to ever live, and the founder of our village, Semei. He was the sole reason that all of the other villages sought to destroy or absorb our village, and the sole reason we're still independent. Using his weapons, we will resurrect him, and wage war on the big five. All shall pay for their transgressions against our home!" Shouted the man, before he finally turned around to face them. He had a slim face with a prominent jawline with a visible black line around his eyes and brown hair which was swept to the back. He wore a light beige coloured headband with the Takumi Village insignia printed on, as well as a purple jacket.

"Naruto-kun. I leave him to you. He is your opponent to defeat. I will not step in, unless you die." Stated the samurai leader as he moved back to watch the fight, much to the derision of Hoki.

"You're joking me, right? You're sending a child to try and kill me? Don't make me fucking laugh! Your master must hate you, brat." Shouted Hoki, brandishing the Fire Sword, sending a ball of flame at the boy. Seeing this, Naruto quickly rolled to his left, behind a pillar, allowing him time to think. Though he did so quickly, as the artisan had begun to tend a torrent of flames at the pillar, attempting to incinerate him.

_'Alright. Mifune-sensei said that he was the best shinobi in the artisan village, but that's all he is, an artisan turned shinobi. He's a fully grown man, and I'm just a kid, so he has me outclassed in probably everything except Kenjutsu, and maybe speed. I'm a smaller target, so that should help, but that damn sword makes him really hard to fight head on. I'm definitely going to have to pull out all the stops here._' Finished the blonde, before his eyes began to glow red, waiting for the sea of flames to disappear. Eventually doing to, Naruto then darted around the mostly molten pillar, heading straight towards the brunette man, weaving in and out of the pillars, hoping to catch Hoki off guard from where he was still standing next to the half molten coffin.

As he approached, Naruto was forced to stop several times, the fire making it difficult to proceed. During a break in fire blasts, no doubt to allow Hoki to conserve energy, Naruto actually managed to make it to the top of the altar, finally bringing the fight to the artisan.

As he got there, the man began the altercation with a diagonal downward swing, which was sidestepped by Naruto, though the fire was not. Though slightly burned, and with a small fire having caught at the base of his shirt, Naruto tried a rising slash, which was also sidestepped.

This went on for around thirty seconds, each trying to lay a hit on the other, Naruto's skill and speed allowing him to dodge Hoki's attacks, the man's experience and age allowing him to do the same. Though Naruto was continuously barraged by fire, burning him slightly, though his regeneration quickly fixed that.

Eventually, one of them managed to land a solid hit, that one being Naruto, that solid hit being in the form of a slash across the stomach.

Seeing this, Hoki then decided to exterminate the eyesore and his teacher once and for all.

"Ha! You truly believe you can defeat me? Come to me, tools of Seimei-sama! Infinity Armor, Garian Sword, and Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords!" Screamed Hoki, as he was engulfed by a pillar of light. When the pillar disappeared, it was revealed that Hoki was now wearing the Infinity Armor, which apparently had the Garian Sword on the back, with one of the WSS in his left hand. It wasn't long, however, until he noticed that something wasn't right. Looking at the blade in his left hand, he realized that it was nothing more than a stump, the sword having been cut in half at the guard. He then looked at he tendrils of the Garian Sword, and realized that they were nowhere near as long as they were supposed to be, with the ends cracked and broken, with wire trailing down.

"What? How...You...We..." Stammered Hoki, unable to comprehend that the sacred weapons of Takumi's founder were destroyed.

"AAAARRRGGGGG!" Screamed the man to the heavens, throwing away the WSS's handle, and tearing the armor and Garian blade away from his body, unable to realize that the armor was perfectly fine in his anger. "You bastards! I will annihilate you! HOW DARE YOU DESTROY SEIMEI-SAMA'S TOOLS!"

With that, he completely flooded the area with fire, forcing Naruto behind another pillar, though he was still burned by the pure heat of the flames, the pillar burning him as well. When it stopped, Naruto was already healing from the burns, though it happened slowly. Staying behind the pillar, Naruto was caught off guard as the Fire Sword began to cut it's way through whatever was left of said pillar.

Rolling away, Hoki was reavealed, constantly expelling fire in an attempt to char-broil the boy. It was only because of his eyes that Naruto survived. Though, after a while, his vision began to blur, as it tended to do, considering that his ability caused rather significant stress on his eyes. He was always fine after a while, but it usually took several hours for his vision to completely correct itself.

Eventully, Naruto noticed that the fire was getting weaker, going from melting the pillars, to causing them to glow from heat, to not even that. That was when he realized that it was a beat the clock challenge between Hoki's chakra, and Naruto's eyes.

As it turned out, Hoki's chakra won.

After dodging a particularly large fireball, Naruto's vision swam, causing him to stumble, which was instantly capitalized on by the artisan shinobi in the form of a downward chop.

Realizing the danger, Naruto did the only thing he could, which was to bring his sword up to combat Hoki's, which turned out to be a bad idea, as it began to melt through the katana, eventually breaking through. While the Fire Sword did miss the boy, neither the fire, nor the broken off blade did so, burning the boy, as the metal sank into Naruto's right thigh, forcing him onto all fours, the handle of a katana with around eight inches of blade still on it.

Chucking to himself, Hoki then began to circle the whiskerd boy, striking him with the flat of the blade whenever he tried to rise.

"Do you see now? How useless this fight is? I am going to make you pay for what you did to my master's tools. But, I'll make it quick, I have a lot of work to do to fix this mess."

With that said, Hoki stopped as he was directly behind Naruto, forcing the blonde onto his knees, as he stared over his shoulder. In position, the artisan shinobi raised his sword, before fire began to gather around the blade, glowing a brilliant white. As the sword came down, no one realized that Naruto's eyes began to flicker red.

"DIE!" Screamed Hoki, slashing at Naruto, who, with the burst of what he assumed to be adrenaline, barely got out of the way in time, though he was still cut from his left hip to his right shoulder. a wound which was instantly cauterized. The blade in his thigh was also knocked out, but not before opening even further, creating a rather ugly gash.

_'No! No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO!'_ screamed Naruto in his head, before turning to Hoki, pure hatred beyond anything he had ever felt, burning in his eyes.

"What's that old adage? Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame? Then again, if you had just died, you wouldn't have that, now would you?" Asked Hoki condescendingly, before an insane grin stretched across his face.

Not even bothering to respond, Naruto brought up what was left of his katana, intent on finishing the fight one way or another, his eyes turning red, not only glowing, as they usually do, but turning a demonic bloody red, with a vertical slit pupil, as he re-activated his kekkei genkai.

The boy then rushed towards Hoki at speeds that the man could just barely keep up with, slashing at the artisan with the broken off sword, slashing his stomach, only to disappear when he tried to retaliate.

Hoki then felt a searing pain in his left arm, before it fell uselessly to his side, him not even being able to feel it anymore, seeing Naruto appear in front of him again.

"Wha-?"

After that, came a pain in his ribs, the boy going even faster, not even allowing Hoki time to retaliate, after several more hits, the artisan then remembered the abilities of his sword, and proceeded to drown the area in fire, believing that that would destroy the child, only for another attack to hit him, this time in the exact same way that Naruto had been scarred, from his left hip, to his right shoulder. The pain then caused him to arch his back, to which Naruto slashed him across his stomach, forcing Hoki to cradle his abdomen with his only functioning arm, before he was slashed behind the knees, all the while seeing Naruto move, but being unable to do anything about it. As he fell to a sitting position, the ninja watched as the small swordsman approached him, eyes now only glowing red, the underlying irises having changed back to blue.

"You know, if you had cut an arm off, maybe a leg, I wouldn't have really cared. But you struck my back, and for that, I must destroy you. Maybe somewhere else, I could have bought your swords." Naruto told him, locking eyes. As the boy approached, Hoki tried one last time to decapitate the blonde, only to realize that he couldn't move.

_'GENJUTSU!'_ Was the last thing he ever thought, before Naruto shoved the sheared katana up through Hoki's throat, and into his brain. It was at that point that he remembered that smith, the one who had asked him how many people he had killed. He realized that the man was right, he was ashamed to have ever picked up a sword. But then, he remembered the first time he did so was the day he met Mifune. The man had become a teacher to him in nearly everything. He answered every question truthfully, and had never steered away from a question due to Naruto's age. He would need to talk to the man soon, to discuss this event, his first kill, but for now, he was...content.

But the thought of his age brought up another. What was he? He was not an adult, but neither could he call himself a child any longer. He wasn't sure what he was, but again, he would have to bring that up with Mifune at a later date.

Leaving his destroyed katana where it was as his now dead opponent fell, Naruto glanced over, before painfully reaching down, and picking up the Fire Sword.

"It's bad luck to loot a body, Kouhai." Came the remark from Mifune, who had watched the entire thing, saddened at the loss of his student's honor as the man cut into his back, knowing that people would either think Naruto a coward or an incompetent, and feeling intrigued by the boy's sudden increase in power.

"A reminder, of my failure." Remarked the boy, reaching up with his left hand, feeling the top edge of his first and only scar.

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"And that, Samui-chan, is how I got my Fire Sword." Said Naruto, finishing the story he had been telling in a café over the course of their breakfast, both of them in the outfits they met in, except that Naruto was completely unarmed, and Samui had her new tanto strapped to the small of her back, instead of the old one. That kind of goes without saying, but that's beside the point.

"That is a fascinating story. And you beat him when you were only ten years old?"

"Yeah. To be fair, most of the man's power came from the fact that he wielded such a powerful sword. Most of his training was to improve his skills at making weapons, rather than using them. I had been training in chakra and kenjutsu for years, as well as the abilities of my eyes, which were pretty much the only reason I won. Afterwards, we went back to the leader of the village, got our swords and a discount, and we left. And when we got back to Tetsu no kuni, I began to train my eyes as well." Said Naruto, rubbing his shoulder, feeling the knot at the top of the scar on his back.

"I see. Well, it was cool of you to tell me that story Naruto-kun." responded Samui, before she pulled out a small scroll. "By the way, I got you something nice, as a thank you for my new tanto." the blonde woman told him, handing over the scroll.

"Thank you, Samui-chan. But you didn't need to give me anything. I gave you the tanto because I felt bad I beat you, and I destroyed your old one." Mused the whiskered male, unfurling the scroll, revealing a storage seal. Activating it, a set of Kumogakure shinobi gloves and shin guards popped out (1).

Said gloves were pure white, fingerless, went about three fourths of the way up his forearms, and had three rather wide red lines on the back of the forearm, with a red circle on the back of the palm. The shin guards were much the same, being pure white with three red lines on the front, covering the entirety of the shin, ending just below the knee, and just above the ankle. Seeing this, Naruto smiled, immediately grabbing the gloves, and sliding them on. He then removed his sandals, slid the shin guards on, and replaced his sandals. Standing, he went through a few motions, a few punches, and a couple kicks. Sitting back down, he rapped his knuckles against the hardened red lines, gaining a satisfied smile as he felt them.

"Thank you Samui-chan! These are wonderful! I could probably stop a blade with these!" He exclaimed, before finally looking at her again, only to see that she had a hand over her mouth, shaking with mirth as she tried not to laugh, letting out a giggle every now and then.

"What uh...what's so funny?" Asked Naruto, feeling a little self conscious, only for Samui to use her free hand to point behind him, where everyone else in the sushi joint was staring at him.

"Oh...Sorry everyone!" He announced, the waiters and other patrons chuckling before going back to their business.

"Well Naruto-kun, I'm having a lot of fun, but I have to go. It's time for me to meet up with my team for training." She told him, getting up in order to leave.

"You know, Samui-chan, if you don't mind, I'd actually like to meet your team." Remarked Naruto, surprising his date, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.

_'Hmm. Maybe it is time for them to meet. They've all been wanting to do so since I showed up with my new tanto.'_ She mused to herself, thinking back to when the other three on her team saw her new tanto, and pretty much immediately threatened to steal it.

"Alright, Naruto-kun. Let's go." She told him, earning a smile, as the man got up and put some money on the table.

Following Samui, jumping along the rooftops, Naruto couldn't help but keep an eye on his surroundings. Doing so allowed him to see a rather attractive young woman attempting to flag him down. Realizing that he knew her, Naruto laid a hand on his lead's shoulder, prompting her to stop.

"I'm sorry Samui-chan, but I think my friend over there wants to talk to me for a bit." He told her, before dropping down and walking towards the woman. As Samui watched him speaking to the woman, she couldn't help but compare herself to this woman, as an uncomfortable feeling settled in her chest (2).

_'She's probably just a friend of his. I don't like him in that way or anything, I'm just trying to get him to stay in the village, so why do I feel like this?'_ She asked herself, watching Naruto and the woman animatedly speak to one another, smiling and laughing. After a minute or so long conversation, Naruto clasped his hand on her shoulder, before waving goodbye and walking back towards Samui, the two of the continuing on their way to Samui's team's training ground.

"So, Samui-chan, is there anything I should know about your team before I meet them?" He asked jokingly, Samui's silence slightly weirding him out, before she let out a heavy sigh.

"They're all cool, but they're really...strange. Just be ready for some oddities." She responded, mildly startling Naruto, who was beginning to have second thoughts about the event about to happen.

Once again embarking on their journey, the two eventually left the village, heading further into the mountains. Finally, they came upon the same lake surrounded, stone courtyard where the two of them first met. The only difference, was that this time there were three people there, two of whom were lightly sparring, while the third, much larger person watched while moving around to a beat that only they could hear.

The first of the group was the sensei, Kirabi. The man had dark skin and a muscular build, as well as white hair and a goatee. On his right shoulder, he had a tattoo of the kanji for "iron", and on his left cheek, a tattoo in the shape of a bull's horn. He had oval shaped sunglasses and a white-coloured forehead protector. He also has his village's standard one-strap-over-one-shoulder flak jacket, a long, red rope belt tied around his waist, the standard Kumo hand and shin guards, shinobi sandals, and a white scarf around his neck. He carried seven swords on his back, held there by a large block of grey metal.

The next male was Omooi. He was also a dark-skinned Kumo-nin with short, spiky, white hair and dark eyes accentuated with lines curving upwards from the corners. His outfit consisted of an overlong shirt with a hood, with red bandage hand guards, Kumogakure shin guards, and a black forehead protector. He was currently wearing a thoughtful expression, apparently in deep contemplation and sucking on a lollipop. To finish it all off, he had a long sword on his back.

The final member of the team was also the only other female, Karui. She too had dark skin, but her hair was a startling shade of red, with her eyes being yellow. She was rather flat-chested, with a long, short-sleeved dress with frilly edges, two simple yellow earrings, fishnet stockings, thigh-high boots with white soles and a forehead protector which she wears like a bandanna. Like Omooi, she carried a long sword on her back.

"Who the fuck is this asshole?" Shouted Karui, not recognizing him in his normal attire, as well as it having been over a week ago, with her focusing more on Samui.

"This is Naruto-kun, the person I've been dating the past few weeks." Answered Samui, startling the three of them, as they all thought they'd never get the chance to meet the mysterious blonde man.

"Yo! So this is the stallion to your pony, I got see this, and see if he ain't phony!" Came the response from her large sensei, who was still moving around to whatever music only he could hear.

"So this is the guy who's dating Samui-san. What if they start having sex, and he gets her pregnant, before he leaves her, forcing her to leave the shinobi forc-WHAM! OW!" began Omooi, before he was smacked on the back of the head by his yellow eyed team mate.

"Shut up Omooi! So, you're the fucker dating Samui?" She asked, poking the blonde man in the chest every few words, not noticing that she had asked the same question the lollypop lover had.

"Yo, jigger jack, don't get all out of whack! What's up Mr. Nine? Me and Miss Two doin' fine! I wanna know why you're here, but first you can treat me to a beer! First I wanted you to meet, see if you could rap to the beat! WHEEEEEE!" Screamed the large man, pumping his fist in the air with his index and pinky fingers extended.

"What the hell do you mean 'Mr. Nine'." Asked Karui.

'Man, I wonder what it is with red-heads and foul mouths?' Questioned Naruto to himself, remembering the flute wielding girl from that new Oto village, who's team had tried to recruit him (and kill him after he refused), before realizing exactly what it was they were talking about.

"Your sensei must have me confused with someone else." Remarked the whiskered male, rubbing the back of his head nervously, causing Karui to turn on her sensei, the other three there just watching the mayhem.

"The name's Omooi by the way. What's yours?" Asked the white-head suddenly, looking at Naruto appraisingly.

"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Responded said person, shaking hands with his new acquaintance.

"You must be rather good to beat Samui-san. May I ask for a spar?" Asked Omooi, nodding his head at the katana on his back.

"Sure. I'm not too sure about all out, but I'm pretty confident I could beat all three of you, if we all used just kenjutsu." Remarked Naruto, only to get a derisive snort from Karui.

"Yeah right you fucker. You beating Samui was probably just a fluke, and giving her that little steak knife was just your way of weaseling out of a re-match." Supposed Karui, wrapping her hand around the hilt of her own katana.

"Jonin-sama?" Asked Naruto, glancing over at Kirabi, who was looking at the four of them interestedly, no longer moving around, before he nodded, thinking something along the lines of 'Either he beats them all, and they're humbled, or they win, and he gives them one hell of a workout,' considering how good Samui said the boy was.

"Sure, whatever you say, little man, but know that swords are all that's in the plan. If you use somethin' else, I'll put you through a livin' hell! WHEEEEEE!" He told the four of them, before everyone took up positions for a match, with Kirabi in the middle, with Naruto on his left, and his three students on his right.

"Ya'll ready fo' dis? I don't want you to give death a kiss!" He asked, everyone nodding, each of B's studen't taking out their blades, before they all glanced at Naruto, who pulled out _two_ katana, both looking exactly the same, before he put them in his sash at his left hip, and drew the blades.

With that, Kirabi quickly chopped his hand down, before jumping away to watch the match.

When it started, Karui wasted no time, quickly charging the blonde man, intent on finishing this quickly with an overhead swing, aimed at splitting Naruto in half, though she'd tone it down so that he'd just have a scar on his front from collar bone to happy trail. What she wasn't expecting, was for Naruto to block said overhead swing, with seemingly no more effort than it took to lift his arm.

"Is that all? I'm going to have to hold back even more than I was if that's the case." Taunted the blonde, enraging Karui, who withdrew the blade, jumping back to join her teammates, knowing that her anger was a problem, and barely able to do anything about it.

Naruto was then forced to jump away, as Omooi blurred into existence on his left, slashing at the back of the blonde man's neck. Naruto then crossed his hands over his chest, attempting to strike at Omooi with both blades, only for the white haired boy to bend backwards, almost loosing his balance. It was at that point that Samui came with another strike, aiming for Naruto's back, to which he spun around, using his momentum to knock her strike out of the way with the sword in his right hand, while simultaneously balancing on his left foot, and kicking Omooi away with his right. Following through, Naruto used the blade in his left to slash at Karui, forcing her to break off her attack.

Samui then appeared above the blonde man in a jumping slash aimed at his head, which was easily sidestepped. Jumping back, Naruto made sure that all three of his opponents were in his line of sight, because while he was sure that he could take them all on, he didn't want to take any chances by getting surrounded.

That being said, the three of them began to advance on the blonde, trying to do exactly that, surround him, only for him to back up, until he couldn't anymore. Five feet from the edge, the whiskered teen then surprised the genin by charging Samui, who was directly in front of him. After a brief struggle Naruto spun around, stabbing one sword in the ground to block a low swipe from Karui's sword, using the other to block Omooi's strike at his ribs, before donkey kicking Samui in the ribs when she tried to take advantage.

"Oh! Omooi-san, there's something on your face." Naruto told the white haired boy, before taking his hand off the hilt of the blade stabbed into the ground, and punching Omooi in the nose. "IT WAS PAIN (3)!"

**"Did he seriously just say that?"** Came the question from inside Kirabi's head, getting a shrug in response.

After he had been punched in the face, Omooi recoiled, freeing up Naruto's right hand, allowing him to slash at Karui, driving her away. This freed up Naruto completely to block another swing from Samui.

Having finally had enough, Naruto decided to go on the offensive, starting with a downward flower swing, directed at Samui, forcing her to retreat, except that Naruto continued on her tail the entire time. Eventually, her back met the edge, and she was forced to attempt to block, which she did successfully, but only with one of the katana. Naruto's second katana broke her defenses, allowing him to land a blow, cutting her left shoulder. Sensing someone behind him, Naruto then whipped around, to deflect yet another downward swing from Karui, before rolling out of the way, aiming for Omooi.

Seeing that he was thoroughly trouncing the three of them at the same time, Karui and Samui nodded to one another, and began to attack Naruto in tandem from behind as he attacked Omooi. This led to Naruto spinning like a top, using both his swords, as well as his superior skill to attack Omooi and block Samui and Karui's attacks, as Omooi backpedaled. Eventually, Naruto managed to knock Omooi's Katana out of the way, leaving hm vulnerable, shich he too immediate advantage of, using the momentum of his spinning.

Stabbing one of his blades into the ground, Naruto then used it as a pivot to hoist his body into a flying spin kick, striking Omooi directly in the face once more, completely knocking him out, before his own momentum carried him further, dragging the blade out of the courtyard floor, where he landed next to the now unconscious boy, entering another combat stance, both blades held in a reverse grip, facing the two girls, Samui on his left, Karui on his right. Rushing the two of them, Naruto made a series of fast attacks, aimed at seemingly random parts of their bodies, quickly swinging at them, and just as quickly withdrawing his blades when they made contact, the strength behind his attacks jarring Karui and Samui, and making them worry for their weapons, even with Samui's vastly superior equipment.

Flipping the katana in his right hand into a normal grip on the back swing of one of his attacks, he used it to block one of Karui's attacks, before sliding his blade around hers, so that they locked together by their pommels, Naruto savagely jerked the blade out of her hand, before using the pommel of his still reversed blade to crack her in the temple, knocking her down. He then ducked as Samui swung at his spine, stabbing one of his katana into the shoulder of Karui's shirt, pinning her down and taking her out of the fight. He then rolled to his left, grabbing Omooi's katana from where it had dropped, and assuming yet another combat stance, this time with both katana held in a normal grip, with his right hand behind his head, the blade pointing down, and his left hand at the right side of his waist, wrapped around his body as though he were about to draw it.

He then stood there, waiting, watching, as the only opponent he had left stood across from him. The two of them then blurred once again into action, Naruto easily overpowering Samui, blocking every one of her hits, dealing glancing cuts to her exposed flesh. Eventually, Samui simply had to admit defeat, as neither she nor her team had even bruised the man.

"Enough, I forfeit." She stated, sheathing her tanto.

With that, Naruto was declared the winner, with Omooi and Samui being given first aid, Naruto sealing his katana away, and giving back Omooi's.

"You're pretty good, Naruto-kun. But, how is it that I managed to land a hit on you when it was one on one, but when it was the three of us, you were untouchable?" Asked Samui, as Naruto checked Omooi to make sure he hadn't done anything permanent. He hadn't, but the white-haired boy would wake up with one hell of a headache.

"I'm better with two." Stated Naruto simply, but before he could elaborate, he was interrupted by the three's sensei.

"You was pretty good against my three, what do you say to be against me?" Questioned Kirabi, as they got Omooi situated so he was laying comfortably on his back, the other two sitting on the steps leading up to the next cliff with Naruto and Kirabi, nursing their bruises and cuts.

"I would honestly love to, but I don't feel like I'd be any match against you. To be honest, you're second on my list." Remarked Naruto, confusing the three who were still conscious.

"What the fuck do you mean, list, jackass? You don't actually think you're going to kill sensei do you, you fucktard?" Demanded Karui, grabbing the handle of her katana again, determined to protect her sensei, even if he didn't need it.

"No such thing, I assure you. I simply mean the list of who to beat to be the best. You're number two." Stated the blonde nervously, trying to fend off the angry redhead.

"Who's number one?" Questioned Samui, while Kirabi tried to figure out whether to be offended or not.

"Hoshigaki Kisame." Responded Naruto, shaking his new friends to the core. However, before they could respond, Naruto stood, and brushed imaginary dust off of his lap, before sealing away his katana and adjusting his clothing. "Now, I'm sorry to say Samui-chan, but I'm going to have to put off tomorrow's date. I have to leave the village for a while."

"Well that's not cool. Why do you need to do that?" She asked, concerned as to why he had to leave.

"That woman I was talking to, the one on the way here? She's the friend of a friend who's an informant, and she told me that Momochi Zabuza was spotted in Nami no Kuni, and I want to fight him." Said the blonde male, before he was grabbed by the collar by Karui.

"Are you fucking mental? You want to fight Hoshigaki Kisame, Momochi Zabuza, and Kirabi-sensei? I mean, maybe you could beat Zabuza, but Sensei? He'll tear you a dozen new assholes in less time that it takes to say Octopus! If you want to die that much, then just eat an explosive tag or something! What the fuck is wrong with you? How in the hell are you that stupid? ANSWER ME YOU BLONDE MOTHER FUCKER!" Screamed the red-head, as she started shaking her blonde captive, only for Samui to slap her hands away, causing Naruto to fall to the ground dizzily.

"Stop it Karui, if he wants to fight Kirabi-sensei, then I'm sure that he'll take it easy on Naruto-kun." She reprimanded, before kneeling down to examine her...boyfriend? "Are you alright, Naruto-kun? It wasn't all that cool of Karui to shake you." She stated, picking up the blonde, and placing him on his feet.

"Well, I gotta go. I'll make that date up to you when I get back, Samui-chan." Naruto told the group after shaking himself a little to clear the cobwebs, and then disappeared in a blur of speed, making his way towards Nami no kuni.

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And that's the end of the chapter!

If you're wondering why Naruto freaked out so much about him getting hit on the back, it's because a back injury is the mark of a coward, or an incompetent.

Before anyone says anything, I'd like to point out that the four celestial symbols group had JUST gotten those weapons and armor. They had no idea what it did! Though, I will say that the fact that they stole them from the village, rather than having Hoki just summon them to him, was a rather big plot hole. Though, it could be said that once they were joined, they could only be...un...joined? by Seimei, the person who made them. And yes, it was never once said in the anime that Seimei actually made those weapons, I just thought he seemed awfully familiar with them.

I'm not gonna lie to you people, I had originally planned for this to be the wave arc chapter, but I felt that this was a good place to drop off, though that'll probably shorten the next chapter.

I really hope no one was angry with the flashback.

Yes, I stated that Samui was high chunin with low jonin potential, but she's the best genin in the village. If you think that Naruto beat all three of them easily, it's because he was savage in the three on one spar, he couldn't afford not to be. He had to power straight through them, not allowing them time to gain momentum, or to execute any teamwork. Things could have easily ended with Naruto's torso becoming the sheath for three blades that aren't his.

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_**Need ideas for water sword, other than Taki water sword jutsu! No, Samehada doesn't count!**_

_**Also need ideas for wind sword, other than the cliché handle with invisible blade of wind.  
That's the Raijin no ken with wind.  
**__**I probably could have used the Weaknessless Soaring Short swords, but I didn't want to use two weapons from the same arc.**_

_**Kinda picky, aren't I?**_

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1: The same ones that Kirabi and Motoi wear. If you look closely, several different members of Kumo wear them as well, and the Naruto wiki actually calls them the standard Kumo shin guards and gloves.

2: Yes, this is rather out of character, but remember, they're teenagers, they've gone on several dates at this point, and she's dedicated herself to keeping him in Kumo. It's nowhere near love at this point, but she does like and is attracted to him, and with the raging hormones of that age, it plays hell with emotions.

3: ASDF FTW!

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Guess the quote:

I am your father's, brother's, nephew's former roommate.

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Stay tuned for the next chapter of The Elemental Swordsman: Showdown Of The Demon Swordsmen!

This concludes experiment log no. 5416


	3. The Demon Swordsmen

Williamgbirkin here, bringing you the third chapter of The Elemental Swordsman!

I'd also like to introduce my new Beta, _**pain17ication**_!

Lot of talking in this chapter, just a heads up.

The words are OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAND! Yes, I went there.

After this, I will _try_ to focus on my other stories, namely A Taste Of The Desert.

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**lifewilbelife42**: That is a very good idea, and if I use it, I will credit you.

**Omegon's Cifer**: Thank you, and you're the first one to guess the quote for this chapter!

**NAFNAF509**: Don't worry, I will be giving him at least three of the swords. I haven't decided which ones, but Kubikiribocho is one of them.

**Darklordd98**: Huh, I had forgotten about the Dragon Blade. Maybe I'll use it, but it seems rather OP for me, I don't know.

**fred872**: Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and do that, but I am going to alter it slightly.

**Black Artist - Alucard Masters**: Oh, right. That makes sense. Also, that sword looks badass!

**God-ShadowEX100**: Calm down. Do you want to know why I had Naruto's vision blur? Because Ranmaru's Dojutsu is overpowered! It has the abilities of both the Byakugan and the Sharingan, as well as the ability to render at least one of them useless! I said that he hadn't used it all that much before, meaning that he had little to no experience using them before his battle with Hoki, and that he'd fixed that problem since, meaning that while his eyes will still do that, he can use them for a much, much longer period of time. You want to know why Naruto gives away information? Because he's a civilian. He's not a shinobi, nor is he a samurai, even if he was trained as one. As well as the fact that, in my eyes, it wasn't all that important of information. He's supposed to be like Urahara, hiding his badassery behind a mask of idiocy. He has more weaknesses than strength? What are you talking about? May I remind you that he was a ten year old fighting a grown man? He is almost a master swordsman, he has great chakra control, several different swords and styles, he has Kurama, he has a Dojutsu, and in present day, he's able to fight off all three of Team Samui without getting a scratch! But that's fine, you don't want to read my story? Then don't. I will say that I have respect for you since you actually signed in to dis me. Well done. Also, I don't give a flying fuck what you think, and I saved each and every chapter I've ever finished, so I'll just make another page and re-upload it there.

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"Jutsu": Human Speech

_'Jutsu'_: Human Thought

**"Jutsu":** Demon/Summon Speech

**_'Jutsu'_**: Demon/Summon Thought

**"Jutsu"**: Jutsu

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"Well, I gotta go. I'll make that date up to you when I get back, Samui-chan." Naruto told the group after shaking himself a little to clear the cobwebs, and then disappeared in a blur of speed, making his way towards Nami no kuni (Land of waves).

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Leaving the village, Naruto couldn't help but think as to exactly why he had stayed in Kumo for so long. He had been there over a month, but he had never been anywhere else except for Tetsu no kuni, and Konoha before that, for longer than a week. Sure, there were several great swordsmen within the village, but he had yet to face a single one, only having sparred with Samui and her team during that time. Naruto had never really met anyone like the blonde girl, being one of the most stoic people he had ever met, and yet she was also one of the most expressive. Thinking about her, Naruto was unable to draw any conclusions as to what their relationship was. They both had said that they didn't want a relationship, but they kept going on dates. Did she really want a relationship? Was she just mooching off him? Was she trying to keep him in Kumo for some reason? He was really going to have to speak to her when he got back.

Wait...Why did he have to go back? Sure, he had told Samui that he would, but other than that, why should he go back? Sure there were several people he could spar with, maybe take their swords as trophies, but He could also go to Konoha and see if Gekko Hayate or that infamous cat Anbu would like a spar. Sure he could date a pretty girl in Samui, but he could hire a prostitute in literally any other village...well, he could if he was able to stoop that low. He could improve his skills in Kumo against people like Darui, but then again, he could test his skills against people like Rokusho Aoi or Kuriarare Kushimaru (1) and earn money at the same time.

Truth be told, there were just as many reasons to go back to Kumo as there were to not go back. If he were completely honest with himself, then the only real factor would be whether or not to uphold his promise with Samui, to go back for at least one more date, before going back to wandering. Then there was the fact the promise he had made Mifune, the one to come back every now and again, so that the man could judge his skills, so that his sensei would finally acknowledge his abilities, so that the two of them could simply talk, catch up, get shitfaced and maybe destroy a couple of things by accident.

But Samui. She was, as cliché as it sounded, unlike any girl he had ever met. She was smart, she was level headed, and a great kunoichi. She was also rather good with a blade, something that was a turn on for him. The only reason she wasn't able to hold her own against him was due to the fact that she was a kunoichi first, forcing her to divide her time between working with her team, learning new jutsu, missions, control, and various other things. He, on the other hand, had focused on four things, and only those four things since _he_ was four; Chakra control, Kenjutsu, his Dojutsu, and Fuinjutsu, and he had only really trained his eyes after his fight against Hoki.

If he was honest with himself, he wanted to start a relationship with the blonde, he just couldn't, as well as the fact that she said she didn't want to, though he did wonder whether or not she was lying about that. He felt that it just wouldn't be fair to any woman, if he started a relationship, only to leave.

_'Okay, there is no way that I'm in love with this girl I've known for about a month. I might be attracted to her, but there's no way that it's love at this point, that'd be too easy. I guess that it could become as such, but I don't want it to. I just want to collect my swords. I'm sure that Mifune-sama would tell me to go for it though. Damn it, I'm just going in circles with this. I need to focus on my journey, and the battle ahead of me.'_ He mused as he went. Eventually snapping out of his thoughts, it took him a few seconds to realize where he was, which turned out to be Fire county, as he was completely out of the mountains, and into heavy forest lands, which surprised him, as it was actually rather dark, meaning that he had traveled for a very long time. Seeing this, Naruto decided to call it a night.

Upon reaching this decision, the blonde man activated his eyes, searching for any sign of foreign chakra. Doing so, he immediately found a few signatures. Seeing this, he began to sneak through the woods towards them, trying to get closer so that the penetrative abilities of his eyes could see who they were.

"Come out, we know you're there!" Came a woman's voice from the camp, the speaker staring into the woods in his direction.

Sighing, Naruto abandoned stealth, simply walking through the woods, into the light of a fire, coming across what he assumed to be a genin team, if the fact that three of them looked very young, and the fact that they all had a Konoha hitai-ate were any indication.

"Who are you?" Demanded their sensei, a woman with red eyes with what looked like a few extra rings, long, wavy black hair, and a dress that looked to be made out of bandages with a thorny plant stem pattern, and a single red sleeve, with her hitai-ate adorning her forehead. As he emerged from the woods, the woman quickly brought her hands together, presumably to make hand signs, positioning herself between Naruto and the three kids.

"It's more polite to introduce yourself before asking the name of someone else, isn't it?" Asked Naruto smugly as he leaned against a tree at the edge of a clearing, earning a roll of the eyes for the overused response.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." She stated heatedly, going through three hand signs when he failed to respond, instead staring at her charges for a few seconds.

The first genin was a boy who had shaggy brown hair, black slit-like pupils with no iris's, red fang-shaped tattoos on his cheeks, and was for some reason wearing a fur lined winter coat with a small dog perched on top of his head. To finish off, he was also wearing his leaf hitai-ate on his forehead.

The next one was the only female member, had blue hair, white pupil-less eyes, a fur-lined lavender jacket, and was wearing her hitai-ate around her neck. Currently her eyes had a rather hard edge to them that looked out of place on her extremely nervous features, as well as bulging veins, signifying an activated Byakugan. Naruto did notice that as soon as he had entered the clearing, she had begun shaking, before hiding behind her teammate with the dog, and while she shook less, it was easy for Naruto to notice her trembling, seemingly gaining strength from the boy.

The last genin was also a male, with black sunglasses, slightly gravity defying brown hair, a large grey coat with the collar up covering everything up to his nose, who wearing his hitai-ate on his forehead, much like the others on his team.

"The name's Naruto." Stated Naruto with a smile after a while, uncaring about her glare for the lack of information.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, examining the man's equipment, especially a certain piece. "Where did you get that flak jacket...Naruto-san?"

"It was given to me by a friend of mine." Responded Naruto, running a finger along the edge of the armor piece. "As to what I'm doing here, I'm just trying to get to Nami no kuni. I was going to set up camp, when I sensed you guys, and came to investigate."

"Well, if that's the case, then why don't you go there? Right now." She asked, Naruto being able to tell that she was completely serious, and ready to try and kill him at a moments notice.

"I'm just trying to find a place to stay the night. I promise not to bring you to any harm." Naruto told the group of four.

"I don't care what you promise, leave." Demanded the Jonin, getting shocked looks from her team at how cold she was acting.

_'Smart woman.'_

"B-b-but S-sensei...H-h-his chakra i-isn't fl-fluctuating. He's t-telling the tr-truth." Stuttered the girl, who Naruto guessed was a Hyuga. Nice girl, but she obviously had no real confidence if the fact that she was literally using her male teammate as a human shield, combined with her constant trembling.

"I concur. Why? Because my Kikaichu say the same thing." came the monotone from the boy with the sunglasses. Naruto paused for a second, before reaching into his hair, pulling out an insect, and gently shooing it away, earning a raised eyebrow from said pre-teen.

"YIP! YIP!"

"Akamaru likes him." Shouted the boy with the dog on his head, the dog nodding in acknowledgement.

"Again, I don't care. Now leave." Responded Kurenai, finishing her jutsu, but not activating it yet, allowing the blonde man to raise his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. I'll leave. Have a nice day." The blonde told the red eyed woman, before jumping back into the trees.

"What was that about sensei?" Questioned the loud boy, wondering why his teacher was so mean to a man they had never met.

"You three are naïve. Everyone who isn't a Konoha shinobi is a potential enemy when on a mission, regardless of whether it's a D, C, B, A, or S-rank. Remember that. Hinata. Keep an eye on him, and tell me when he's out of sight. When the three of you are on watch, make sure that you tell me if you sense this 'Naruto', so that I can take care of him." She ordered.

This was all unnecessary, however, as Naruto quickly made his way a few dozen miles away to make camp after making sure that no one was around.

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As Naruto entered Nami no kuni the next day, he began his search discreetly within the town. Sure, he would have been able to find any chakra signatures if he used his eyes, but he didn't want to become to reliant on them. In fact, he had actually pushed his self allocated allowance for usage the previous night, searching for enemies. Walking around, he couldn't help but notice the pure squalor these people lived in. Grown men and women sitting on the corners, holding signs that said 'will work for food', the women dressing rather loosely, though whether that was to garner more job opportunities, or by accident, he wasn't sure. Children wandered the streets, without shoes, with ribs that stuck out when you could see them, everyone wearing clothing that might have fit them if they were average sized, rather than skinny. Others simply lay in random places, apparently having given up, waiting for the shinigami to take them.

Fleeing from the depressing scene, Naruto entered a store, before seeing a pink haired girl accompanying a man who smelled of alcohol, even with Naruto ten yards away. While this may not have been of note (except for the fact that she had pink hair, seriously, who the hell has pink hair?), the fact that she had a Konoha hitai-ate, made things interesting.

The old man was grey-haired, bespectacled person with a large beard and dark eyes. Currently, he wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head.

The girl had bright pink hair, large green eyes, and fair skin. She wore a red qipao dress with white circular designs, tight dark green shorts, and her hitai-ate was worn as a hair band.

_'So, I meet another team. And so soon, too! I wonder who the sensei to this group is. After all, it was rather interesting to meet the 'Sakkaku no aijin (Illusion mistress)' Yuhi Kurenai.'_ thought the blonde, as he hid to watch the two, though he mused that he probably didn't even need to do that, since neither she nor the old man seemed to even notice their surroundings.

Or not.

Shaking his head as the man who had apparently tried to steal the girl's bag, only to accidentally grope her ass, was sent flying, Naruto followed the two of them as they bought what was left of the store. Following them, Naruto was treated to the sight of the girl giving a small child a handful of candies, but not before almost killing said child, thinking they were another pervert. He then overheard the duo speaking of how the bridge the old man was apparently building was a symbol of courage, how it was going to restore the hope and economy of the town, how everything would go back to norman when it was finished.

_'Well that's rather foolish. I mean, even if you build this bridge, there's nothing stopping that guy from blowing it straight to hell with a few well placed explosions. Plus, you're only building this bridge because of some prick with a bank account, if you're as good a bridge builder as you say you are, then you should have done this years ago.'_ Thought Naruto to himself, before realizing that his quarry was getting away. They eventually led him out of the village, into a forested area, following the beach. Finally, the three of them made it to a rater quaint little, two story house, which was literally built over the water on stilts.

Seeing the pink one and the old man go into the house, Naruto waited for a few seconds, before, against his better judgment, activating his eyes, trying to sense whether or not he knew anyone inside. Instantly recognizing one, though for some reason he seemed somewhat off, the blonde immediately began to make plan to mess with his friend. Using his phenomenal natural stealth, something that he had never really trained, though was always good at for some reason, he quickly snuck into the building from an open window on the second story. Using his eyes to make sure that he wasn't surprised, he snuck his way downstairs in order to prevent himself from accidentally stepping on a loose floorboard.

Now, one might wonder as to why one trained as a samurai would know a shinobi technique, it was completely commonplace for them to do so. Though Samurai only used their chakra in conjunction with their swords, they still had to have adequate control over it, as if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to enhance their swords for very long.

Sneaking downstairs, wondering how the hell his friend hadn't caught him yet, he quickly glanced around a corner, seeing a total of six people in the room at his back. Two of them were the old man and the pink girl, but then there was a very attractive young black haired woman, a man with one eye covered and gravity defying silver hair who was lying on a futon on the floor, and a pair of black haired boys, one of whom had a ridiculous hair cut, a blue shirt, and white pants, the other of whom had hair that lay flat, and a shirt that bared both is midriff as well as his left arm. It was worth noting that for some reason, the two boys were covered in grass stains and bruises.

"Well, if todays training is any indication, then I'm sure that we'll be ready for when Zabuza and the fake hunter nin comes back." Kakashi told everyone present, giving them all an eye smile.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Inu-san." Stated Naruto, as he blurred into the room, crouching behind the silverette, a tanto held to the man's throat.

_'What!'_ Screamed the man in his head, two of the three genin and both civilians panicking, before he recognized the voice.

"Naruto?" He questioned, getting a warm chuckle, as the blade was taken away.

"Damn, Inu, you've gotten rustier than hell. What happened?" Inquired Naruto, the others wondering what was happening, and why the guy hadn't killed them all yet.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing here?" Questioned Inu, wondering if he had been somehow added to Gato's payroll.

"Oh, not much. I heard that Momochi Zabuza was here, and decided to come and see if I could beat him. I saw your genin in the village, and when I realized that she was your student, I decided to mess with you a bit. I haven't seen you in what, a year?" Asked Naruto, walking around the futon to sit on the couch, before seeing the man nod.

"The name's Kakashi, by the way. I haven't been Anbu for about six months now." The now labeled Kakashi told Naruto, earning a nod from the blonde.

"Sensei, who the hell is this guy?" Demanded the girl suddenly, standing between Naruto and the old man with a kunai pointing at the blonde, glancing between him and her teacher.

"Oh right, time for introductions!" Cheered Kakashi uncharacteristically. "This is Uchiha Sasuke," The genin with the funny haircut, "Haruno Sakura," Pinky, "Sai," The pale one with the hooker shirt, "Our client Tazuna," The man took a drink, "his daughter Tsunami," The woman bowed, "and Inari, but he's not here right now."

Bowing back to Tsunami, and nodding to the genin, Naruto then made his way over to Tazuna, and stuck out his hand for a shake.

"It's nice to meet you mister Tatooine." Spouted Naruto, everyone looking at him like he had grown a second head, wondering how he could have gotten the man's name that wrong.

"My name is Tazuna." Came the annoyed grumble from the drunken architect.

"That's what I said; Toblerone!" Replied Naruto cheerfully, only for the man to gain an annoyed expression and a tick on his forehead.

"Tazuna!" He replied heatedly.

"Right, Tamagachi." Said Naruto just as cheerfully as the last time.

"MY NAME IS TAZUNA!" Screamed Tazuna, gripping Naruto's hand as hard as he could, though it had no effect on the blonde.

"George."

"What the-"

"Anyways!" Interrupted Kakashi, making Naruto inwardly pout that his fun had been ruined. "This is Uzumaki Naruto. We traveled together for a year."

"No, you followed me because you were told to by your Hokage." Stated Naruto, glaring lightly at his friend who just chuckled nervously.

"Right." Acquiesced Kakashi with a rather nervous smile. "How did you know it was me?"

"Oh I'm sorry, Inu must have been one of the other thousand lanky bastards with silver hair which points directly up that I know. So what happened to you guys?" Asked the blonde swordsman, before listening to the story of how they had met and fought off Zabuza, and how the man was more than likely still alive. Hearing this, Naruto then got off the couch, before his eyes and hands began to glow at the same time, his eyes red, and his hands green.

"I didn't know you could use medical jutsu." Commented Kakashi, surprised that the swordsman would ever learn a shinobi technique, other than chakra control exercises and chakra flow with his weapons. After all, he himself had offered to teach Naruto several times, but the blonde stoically maintained that all he wanted to learn was the blade.

"Only one I've ever learned, and I still can't do it without using my eyes to visually regulate the chakra flow. Damn. You're in shit condition. That explains why I was able to sneak up on you." The blonde told the man, who nodded, as he had been wondering why the teens eyes were activated, having seen them hundreds of times when they were companions, knowing everything that they could do. When Naruto was finished, Kakashi quickly stood up, feeling much better than he had done for a while.

"In any case, this little meeting has changed things." Said the silverette to his genin, Naruto getting a bad feeling in his gut. "Considering the circumstances, I'm going to change your training a little bit." Finished the shinobi teacher, stretching the kinks out of his spine, the civilians and genin flinching slightly whenever a particularly loud pop was heard.

"What do you mean you're changing our training, Sensei?" Demanded Sakura, her sentiment being shared by Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto, the last of whom knew that no matter what they did, no fresh genin could train enough to beat a jonin in less than a week.

"Well, Sakura-chan, Naruto and I are going to-" Began Kakashi, only to be interrupted by said blonde.

"What the hell do you mean, 'Naruto and I'?" Demanded the swordsman, pissed at the fact that Kakashi would instantly assume that Naruto would do whatever he asked.

"Come on, Naruto-kun." Drawled Kakashi playfully, giving the teenager one of his patented eye smiles. "You owe me after I rescued you from that castle in Kubi no kubi (Land of neck)." Stated Kakshi, recalling how the two of them had been trapped inside a chameleon transformed into a castle.

"No, you told me that we were even when I got you that one night stand with that petite girl from Shimo no kuni (Land of frost)." Responded Naruto near instantaneously.

"Well...what about when I fought off Ringo Ameyuri in Cha no kuni (Land of tea), the one who tried to keep you locked in a closet so she could have her way with you whenever she wanted?" Inquired the Konoha jonin, reminding the blonde of the rather hilarious altercation with the Mizugakure missing shinobi, involving lots of alcohol, an attempt to take the Kiba swords from her, and a lot of torn clothing.

"The tall woman in Kawa no kuni (Land of rivers)" Replied Naruto, again without hesitation.

"I got you out of those ruins in Kaze no kuni (Land of wind)." Another adventure where Naruto searched for a weapon in some ancient ruins, thinking that an ancient Shinobi might have left a weapon behind, only to find a series of kunai that Naruto didn't recognize, but Kakashi did (2).

"The twins in Oni no kuni (Land of demons)." Interrupted Naruto, earning another round of shocked looks.

"Then-"

"That mother and daughter in Tanima no kuni (Land of valleys)." the blonde boy once again interrupted the silverette, who's shoulders immediately sank in defeat, before he perked up once again.

"You-"

"Look Kakashi, you traveled with me for a year by orders of your Hokage, I may not have wanted you there at the start, but I'd like to assume that we're friends now. I've paid every debt I owed you, and vice versa. The two of us are currently even. Now, because we're friends, if you want me to help you beat the hell out of these rookies, then I'll gladly do so, and you'll owe me another favor. But if you assume that I'm just going to go through with everything that you tell me to, then we're going to have a problem. Now, if you want to ask me, I'll tell you whether or not I will help you. If you don't, then I'm leaving to try to find Zabuza." Naruto told the man.

Seeing that Kakashi was not going to argue any longer, the blonde turned his attention back to the rest of the people in the room. Raising a water bottle to his lips, he paused in surprise at the expressions on everyone there. Tazuna was raising his bottle of sake in Kakashi's direction, before he downed it in one go, Sasuke was looking rather green, with Sakura and Tsunami switching between glaring at Naruto and glaring at Kakashi, all while Sai simply smiled the same creepy smile that he'd had the entire time Naruto had seen him.

"Alright, Naruto-kun. Would you be able to help me train my genin?" Asked Kakashi with a sigh.

"Wait just a damn second, sensei! What the hell was this guy talking about with all those girls? You shouldn't lead on a woman if you're just going to leave her!" Shouted Sakura, a sentiment visibly shared with Tsunami, though it also hit home with Naruto, considering his situation with Samui.

"Not important." Naruto 'assured' Sakura, waving off her concerns flippantly. "Very well, Kakashi, I'll help you. But, I'm only doing this because you're my friend. Anyone else, and I'd tell them to fuck off." came the finished deadpan from Naruto, earning an eye-smile from the Cyclops.

"Wonderful! Now, I've been training the three of them in the tree walking exercise-" Began Kakashi, before Naruto interrupted yet again.

"Wait, you're on your first C-rank mission, and you're just now teaching that to these greenhorns? You are a _terrible_ teacher." Inflected Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura glaring at the Cyclops. "Well, either that, or they're terrible students." Added the blonde as an afterthought, the glares immediately shifting towards him.

Ignoring the blonde's comments, Kakashi motioned for the genin and Naruto to follow him. As they left the house, the Jonin filled Naruto in on everything that he might need to know in order to help train his students. Watching the five of them leave, Tazuna couldn't help but think about what a great wingman the blonde apparently was, making a plan to go drinking with him at some point.

"Alright, the three of you will be sparring with Naruto here. As both he and Zabuza use swords, it'll allow you to learn some techniques to handle him." Explained Kakashi as the small group arrived at the forest clearing.

"That is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. No matter how good these brats are, they aren't going to be able to fend off Momochi Zabuza, even if they trained every second of every minute between now and when they next see him." said the blonde with a groan, even as he pulled out one of his regular katana.

Was his friend trying to kill these kids?

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I simply wish to give them some experience fighting an enemy who wields something other than kunai and shuriken." Retorted Kakashi.

"Very well, but I still don't think its going to help."

"And how would you know that? You are just a civilian, and we're shinobi!" taunted Sasuke smugly, as Sakura sighed dreamily and Sai just examined Naruto, trying to gauge his abilities.

"In that case, you can be first, Sasuke-kun." said Kakashi cheerfully, the boy getting up as Sakura cheered him on.

Thinking that the man would never be able to keep up with a shinobi, Sasuke rushed Naruto as fast as he could.

**SMACK**

Only for Naruto to viciously backhand the ravenette, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Was that it?" Questioned the blonde, Sasuke snarling at the swordsman, before pulling out a kunai. Seeing this, Naruto quickly drew his blade, shifting into a chudan stance' his feet spread evenly, the hilt at his pelvis, with the point of the blade aimed at Sasuke's throat. With that, the boy once again rushed Naruto, lunging with a kunai, only for Naruto to use his blade to gently guide Sasuke's lunge to his right, before gently putting the edge of his katana on the back of Sasuke's neck.

"Dead."

Sasuke then tried to slash at Naruto from the position they were in, only for Naruto to jump back. The Uchiha then threw his kunai at the swordsman. Seeing this, Naruto stabbed his sword through the ring at the base of the kunai, and launch it back at Sasuke, who crouched to avoid it, only to be pinned down as Naruto stood behind him, holding his sword vertically with the tip between Sasuke's shoulder blades, ready to stab down.

"Dead."

As Naruto removed the tip of his katana, Sasuke jumped away, going through several hand signs, before finishing on tora.

"**Katon: gōkakyū no jutsu** (Fire style: grand fireball jutsu)!" With that, the Uchiha quickly spewed a large torrent of flames, hoping to eradicate the annoying blonde, who was somehow humiliating him.

On the sidelines, Sakura was completely speechless as she watched the best genin of their graduating class be completely manhandled. Kakashi was shaking his head in slight disappointment at how easily the boy was loosing his temper, and Sai was...Sai.

After the fire had cleared, there was nothing, no body, no ashes, nothing but a charred patch of grass. Wondering where he had gone, Sasuke was unprepared as Naruto dropped onto his back from above, sending him into blissful unconsciousness.

"Dead." Came the callous remark from Naruto a he stepped off the genin, sheathing his sword.

"Well that's that. Sakura, your turn." Drawled Kakashi, hoping this would teach the Uchiha some humility, while he dragged the boy over to the sidelines.

As Sakura got into position, she watched as Naruto pulled his katana from its sheath once more, grinning at her in a feral manner as he did so, eyes narrowed dangerously, and promptly passed out, foaming at the mouth.

"Well, that was unexpected." Murmed Naruto, sheathing his sword, before checking on the girl with Kakashi.

"She's fine, just unconscious. Sai, you're up." Said Kakashi as he drug Sakura back over to the sidelines.

Sai Lasted longer than the others, because as soon as the match started, he disappeared.

_'Smart boy. Retreating from the obviously superior enemy in order to attack from afar._' Thought Naruto, before he quickly unsheathed his blade and cut four lions in half with it, only for them to fall apart into puddles of ink. _'That's a new one.'_

Naruto then began to systematically destroy more and more creations, and with the novelty of ink jutsu having worn off after the first attack, this was rather boring to the blonde, who began to try and figure out Sai's location. After a couple dozen seconds, Naruto was able to see the tree canopy shifting in one particular location. Realizing this, he quickly sent an underpowered **Issei** (Flash) at that spot, forcing Sai to flee the area with Naruto hot on his tail. While the boy was fast, he was no match against Naruto, who quickly caught up.

"Not bad, but lets see how good you are with that tanto." Narto told Sai with a grin, as the boy pulled out his tip less blade.

Playing a defensive game, Naruto was able to see that Sai was actually very good, weilding his tanto in his right hand, and a kunai in his left. It was obvious that he either had years of training, or innate talent. Judging by the complex way that the boy was trying to disarm him, he would guess the former. Finally, Naruto eventually got bored with the fight, dodging one of the tanto swipes, and hitting Sai on the back of the neck with the blund edge of his katana, only for the boy to melt into ink.

_'FUCK!_' Shouted Naruto internally,as the ink attempted to crawl it's way up his body in a shackle-like manner. Frowning, Naruto broke out with brute force, before appearing behind the real Sai in a flash of speed, knocking the boy out before he could complete whatever attack he had planned.

"We have a lot of work to do." Said Naruto with a chuckle, as he stared at the three unconscious genin in front of him, Kakashi only sighing, knowing it would be pointless to ask Naruto to take it easy on them.

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Over the next few days, Naruto would spar with the genin while Kakashi guarded Tazuna. Each day he would beat the hell out of them, heal them, and do it all over again. The three of them were understandably curious as to why his eyes glowed, but he refused to tell them anything about it, which they eventually just accepted.

A surprise happened, however, as one night Sasuke snapped at the boy Inari, before storming out of the house in a rage. The next morning, he was almost serene, and he had actually begun to treat his comrades with some manner of decency, as though actively trying to be pleasant. He was still a dick to Naruto, but it was still a rather large step forwards. Nobody knew what happened in that time, but they all suspected the rather attractive person Sai told them about, who had been walking away from a blushing Sasuke (3).

Though he was only doing so because of Kakashi, Naruto began to give the three advice to help them improve, increasing their speed and reaction time, allowing him to go harder and harder aganst them, and while he didn't even use half of his abilities against them, they had improved dramatically.

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Finally, the day came where Kakashi figured that Zabuza had had enough time to recuperate. Leaving Sai behind to guard Tsunami and Inari, the other five of the group made their way to the bridge, only to be greeted with the scene of the bridge workers laying in puddles of blood, dead, dying, and unconscious.

_'Well that's rather coincidental. Or is it convenient? The first day we decide we're ready for him, he appears._' Thought Naruto at the absurdity of the situation, before a choking mist blanketed the area.

"Look who we have here. Tell me Kakashi, did that ink brat decide to cop out?" Taunted Zabuza.

"Actually, I'm just an old friend, come to visit. Now, would you be so kind as to hand over your sword?" Asked Naruto politely, a laugh coming from Zabuza at the mere thought.

"Tell you what, gaki, you kill me, and you can have it." Laughed Zabuza, as he hefted his blade, Kubikiribocho, the seversword, the executioner's blade, the

"Naruto! Take care of the apprentice!" Shouted Kakashi, following Zabuza to do battle.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Screamed Naruto, distinctly remembering that he'd told Kakashi that he wanted Zabzua, not the hunter-nin. "I guess this is the part where we kill eachother?"

"I must do as my master has ordered me." Came the monotone from the face hunter ninja, as they pulled out several senbon.

"Kinky." Joked Naruto.

"Wh-what?" Stammered Naruto's enemy, before throwing a few easily dodged needles. "I'm a boy you moron!"

"So Zabuza-san swings that way?" Teased Naruto again, his opponent visibly getting angrier, before they suddenly did a complete one-eighty, becoming calm and collected once again.

"I'm sorry, Samurai-san, but I'm going to have to kill you now." Stated the masked enemy, as several mirrors made of ice came from nowhere, surrounding the blonde swordsman, each one having the same pose; his left hand up next to the ice user's face, with a senbon in each finger gap of the fist, for a total of four, the other hand hanging limp at the fake hunter-nin's side.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately activated his Dojutsu, glancing at the several different mirrors, seeing which one had Zabuza's apprentice. When he saw which one had the enemy in it, he quickly took out the Fire Sword, and cut the mirror in half. As it fell apart, the ice user was revealed, the arm that had been at his side cut off, with his spine being the only thing holding the rest of him together. Lying on his stomach, the mask fell off the fake nin's face, revealing one of the most beautiful people Naruto had ever seen. Though he knew that the enemy was a male, it was slightly hard to remember when looking at his face.

"H-how?" Asked the fake hunter shinobi weakly, the light leaving his eyes rather quickly, each of his other mirrors breaking in a beautiful display of crystalized water.

"This sword is capable of generating near infinite amounts of fire. I just used enough to get the job done. Now rest. Rest knowing that you died doing your duty." Explained Naruto, before kneeling down, picking up the mask, and closing his enemies eyes with his fingers, noticing that he was smiling at what Naruto had said.

_'I wonder what his name was.'_ Thought Naruto to himself, before taking off towards where he felt the most chakra being expelled.

Arriving, Naruto quickly came across Kakashi, who had his left eye uncovered, and currently had a scroll out, which he was whipping around his head. Seeing this, Naruto sent a blast of fire at the silverette, burning the scroll, and forcing him away from the area.

"Oh? That's interesting. Is there dissention in the ranks?" Mocked Zabuza, who's voice came from both everywhere, and nowhere from within the mist.

"Naruto, what the fuck are you doing?" Demanded Kakashi, wondering if Gato had somehow gotten Naruto under his payroll, even after all the blonde had done for Kakashi and his genin over the last few days.

"I told you, Kakashi, that Zabuza was mine, yet you stuck me with the brat! Now, piss off and let me handle this." Demanded Naruto, as he tossed the mask at Kakashi's feet, sealed away his Fire sword, and instead pulling out a pair of near identical slate grey ones, reminiscent of cleavers.

These blades were little over three and a half feet long, with a two and a half foot long blade that had a width of eighteen inches, and a thickness of half an inch. The two edges were completely parallel, before a perfect forty degree angle going to a point, which was a ninety degree angle. They had curved hilt that did not extend past the blade itself, with a foot long handle, with a large ring at the end, reminiscent of a kunai. Linked to those rings was a chain which extended back up to the hilt. The reason why they were _nearly_ identical was due to the fact that the flat of each blade had what appeared to be veins going the length of the sword (4)

"How do you like my Stone Swords, Zabuza-san? These were given to me by Jiraiya the Sennin himself, from the Mount Myoboku, the realm of the toads. I'm not exactly sure why he gave them to me, but that's beside the point (5). You're the first person I've ever used these against...is the point." Trailed off the blonde, a sweat drop appearing on both Kakashi and Zabuza's heads.

Naruto then shifted his grip so that he was holding the swords by the bottom of the hilt, the heel of his hand against the ring at the base, before swinging them in little arcs, going faster and faster, the arcs getting larger and larger, as he went.

_'Interesting. If the fact that he beat Haku is any indication, he's proficient in swordplay. I'm going to have to finish this quickly, catch him off guard. I can beat Kakashi at any point, especially now that this gaki stopped whatever he had been planning on doing, so I'll focus on the fresh one for now.'_ Thought Mizu's former demon, as he made his way behind Naruto, who's movements had stopped progressing after a certain point, now simply swinging back and forth at a constant rate and distance.

Now behind Naruto, Zabuza tried to quickly end the battle with a broad sweeping attack, believing that Naruto wouldn't notice him in time to stop what amounted to his swinging an entirely other person. This train of thought went completely out the window, however, as Naruto bent over, spinning around so that he was limbo-ing beneath the sword swing, before kicking the flat of the giant blade, forcing it into the open air on Zabuza's left, before using the momentum from his spin to score a hit on Zabuza's chest, cutting off the harness that the demon used to hold up his zanbato (6).

"Fuck!" Shouted the missing-nin, as he once again disappeared into the mist.

"Naruto, you can't beat him, he's too strong!" Shouted Kakashi. "If we're going to get through this, then we need to work together!"

Before Naruto was able to respond, and not in a good way, the sound of rushing water reached their ears, before they saw a dragon made of water barreling towards them. As Kakashi jumped away, Naruto simply stood there, before channeling chakra into the sword in his right hand, before backhanding the dragon with the flat of the blade, dispelling it. Though the water still impacted him, it was nowhere near the force it would have been, had he not

_'That kinda hurt, but it should have really affected Zabuza's moral, seeing a high level attack like that dispelled so easily.'_ Thought Naruto to himself, unknowingly hitting the nail right on the head.

_'Fuck! If he destroyed my jutsu that easily, I don't know if I have a chance here. Wait! That boy, he attacked Kakashi! That means they aren't allies. So, if I attack him, then the blonde wont do anything about it.'_

With that in mind, Zabuza quickly turned his attention to the enemy he saw as the weaker option, hoping that he'd either take out the copy ninja, or the blonde would be distracted enough for him to get a lucky hit in.

Approaching Kakashi, the mist demon smiled viciously, as he once again prepared to bisect the silverette.

It was not to be however, as his target somehow heard the sound of the blade cutting through the air, and rolled forward to dodge. Kakashi then tried to perform another jutsu, hoping to end the confrontation, only to be sent flying by a kick to the ribs, courtesy of Naruto, aggravating the already existing wound on his chest..

"I told you Kakashi, he's mine!" Shouted the blonde, before he rushed Zabuza once again, this time channeling chakra to his limbs, his strikes becoming faster and stronger, as well as his swords, becoming more dense, increasing the momentum of his attacks, Zabuza following suit, as he was unable to do anything else because of the viciousness of the blonde's assault.

The two fought it out for several minutes, the mist clearing due to the two's concentration being solely on their fight, blade clashing against blade, wounds being opened on both, each one attempting to bisect the other with the sheer force behind their strikes. While Naruto did have the advantage of two swords, Zabuza had more experience, and his sword was much heavier, allowing him to strike harder.

Eventually, the fight came down to stamina, and while Naruto had that in spades, he was unused to swinging such heavy blades, usually only wielding smaller, lighter katana, and though Zabuza had significantly less than Naruto, he only had one blade, which he was much more used to using. Finally, Zabuza broke through Naruto's defenses, sending the stone blade in his left hand flying away. Immediately capitalizing on this, Zabuza tried to cut Naruto in half from crown to foot, only for the blonde to surprise him by rushing forward. Instead of being cut in half, the blunt half circle at the base of Kubikiribocho caught him on his left shoulder, breaking his clavicle, scapula, and his humerus, as well as fracturing some of his vertebrae (7).

However, this self destructive action surprised the demon enough that he was able to shove his remaining stone blade through the man's torso, the two of them face to face, both coughing up blood.

"Heh, a fitting death." whispered Zabuza, before the light left his eyes and he slumped to the ground, dead (8).

With that, Naruto sealed away the stone blade still in his grasp, picked up Zabuza's sword with his only remaining good hand, and stumbled his way towards his other sword, before awkwardly picking it up with the same hand he had Kubikiribocho in, and sealing it away as well.

_'I'm going to have to make a few new seals if I keep getting such large swords.'_ thought the blonde, before a 'twinge' of pain from his left shoulder sent him to the ground. _'FUCK! The adrenaline from the fight is wearing off. If I don't get some attention soon, I'm going to pass out.'_

Naruto was out of luck, however, as the sound of slow clapping came from the unfinished part of the bridge. Looking there, it was revealed to be a small man in an expensive looking suit, surrounded by an army of generic thugs.

"Well, damn if that wasn't interesting. I suppose I'll have to thank you for killing that itty bitty demon. Saves me the hastle of killing him myself. Bandits are so much cheaper anyways. Regardless, now that you're all tired out, I'm going to have to ask you to die." Shouted the business man to himself.

"Kakashi. This is going to be up to you." Said Naruto, who's vision was fading due to the blood loss and pain. "I might be able to kill some of them, but I'm really fucked up here."

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'm nearly full after you stopped me from participating in the battle. Plus, Sasuke and Sakura are full because they guarded Tazuna-san. We'll take care of these guys." Responded Kakashi, before yelling for Sasuke to join the two of them, breaking off the boy's staring at the smiling face of the fake hunter-nin.

What followed after was nothing short of slaughter, though Kakashi decimated most of the bandits, Naruto was still able to get in a few kills with his new sword., even fighting through the pain, as Sasuke also took some lives, mostly with his fire jutsu and thrown weapons, but he still did it. After it was finished, the only one left was Gato, the survivors having left him behind in their bid for life.

"P-please! I'll give you anything; money, women, land! Just let me live!" Screamed the short man, before he was put out of his misery by a kunai to the brain, courtesy of Kakashi.

Seeing that everything was now calm, Naruto swung Kubikiribocho to rid it of the blood, and couldn't help but grin, seeing as he had defeated number seventeen on his list, as well as taken possession of the legendary blade. Having finished his business in Nami, he disappeared in order to recuperate, before heading back towards Kumo to have a conversation with the woman he'd been dating.

Due to his having vanished, he missed the large crowd of villagers appearing on the scene, lead by Tsunami of all people, with Sai next to her, and Inari behind her.

Wave Country

One Week Later

With Gato, Zabuza and his apprentice dead, the town quickly gained hope once more, as all the men in the town that were able came to aid in the bridge's construction. It took several more days to finish, and was named 'The Bridge Of The Blades', when it was. Seeing as how Naruto had disappeared after the battle on the bridge, the Konoha team had buried Zabuza and his apprentice, at the behest of Sasuke, surprisingly enough.

As the four shinobi stood there at the graves one last time before they left, Sasuke couldn't help but think of the interaction he'd had with the fake hunter-nin (the one that only he knew as Haku) the one morning after training.

_'You told me that to be strong you had to protect those precious to you. You told me that true strength comes from the love you have for others, but where did that strength take you? A grave. You were wrong, and I was right. The only path to true strength comes from hatred, from revenge, from solitude. One doesn't need friends, only more training, more jutsu, more power. I will kill my brother, and anyone who gets in my way. And I'll start by killing Uzumaki Naruto. He will be my stepping stone to my brother, the benchmark that shows I can defeat that man.'_ Thought the avenger darkly, as he activated his sharingan, gained from the emotional anguish of ending so many lives. After a few seconds of prayer, Kakashi stuck a katana that he had bought at the head of Zabuza's grave to mark it as that of a swordsman, and they all walked away.

Midnight That Day

Approaching the hill where the two shinobi were buried, A figure stopped momentarily to appreciate the view of the small fishing community in the moonlight. That being done, they quickly ascended the hill, making sure that they hadn't been followed, before unsealing a shovel, and digging up the grave marked the porcelain mask.

"So, you want to be the best swordsman ever? Then I'll show you the best swordsman ever!" Muttered the figure to itself, before dragging Haku's top half out of the dirt, and sealing it away, before disappearing, leaving behind nothing but a desecrated grave.

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And that's the end of the chapter!

Before anyone asks, Naruto only has five katana, a sword for katon, and a sword for doton right now, the other three elements, and a few extra will come later.

Yes, it was Kakashi who gave Naruto his Anbu flak jacket. No, they aren't attracted to each other, or some other perverted crap! It's just that Kakashi knows who Naruto is, and wants to help his sensei's son in any way he can, and Kakashi is almost the only friend Naruto has outside of Tetsu no kuni. He hasn't spent enough time anywhere else for him to really get to know anyone, and Samui doesn't count, as if anything she's a girlfriend. But then again, I still haven't told you who he got the Kiri hunter kimono from! :3

I really hope that Naruto doesn't seem to powerful right now, but I like the way I've made him. He isn't kage level as of yet, but he is stronger than most jonin. He couldn't handle Itachi, or one of the Sanin, but he could probably beat Kakahi, Asuma, and Kurenai. Not all at once of course. He'd probably loose to Gai, due to the man's speed and the gates.

Before any of you bitch, and moan, and ask why Hinata acted the way she did, let me explain. Naruto is now sixteen, and left the village when he was four. At this time, team 7, 8, and 9 are now twelve, meaning that he left just as they were born, if not before that. Now, that means Hinata had no Naruto to stalk and gain confidence from, meaning that she had to get it from somewhere else. I simply made that source Kiba, but since he didn't have to go through anything close to what Naruto did, only being 'the dobe', rather than being 'the pariah', she didn't gain nearly as much as she did with the blonde. I had originally planned on her committing suicide, but I didn't want to deal with the bitching of Hinata fans. Plus, I was too lazy to come up with an OC.

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_**Poll up about what to do with Naruto's adventures with Kakashi.**_

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1: Not really a whole lot of reputable sword users in the Naruto series, and most of them are from the seven swordsmen.

2: Yes, that is a Lost Tower reference.

3: No, Sasuke isn't gay in this story, he just reacted in the same way Naruto did. The reason he was green earlier, was due to him imagining Kakashi and various women together.

4: The swords Jiraiya used against Pain.

5: Will be explained.

6: I don't understand why people call Kubikiribocho a Zanpakuto, rather than a Zanbato. I mean, a Zanpakuto is a soul cutting sword, while a Zanbato is a horse cutting sword. I've read like fifteen stories that make that mistake, and I don't understand why. Just because of spelling? That's idiotic.

7: I may be wrong, and that part might be sharp in cannon, but I don't care. This is my story, and that's how it happened.

8: The reason that Naruto didn't use his eyes is simple. He wanted to fight Zabuza as a swordsman, rather than as a shinobi, like with Samui.

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Guess the video game quote:

Might controls everything-and without strength, you cannot protect anything; let alone yourself!

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Stay tuned for the next chapter of The Elemental Swordsman: I Can't Do This!

This concludes experiment log no. 3215


	4. General Update

Hello everyone. Williamgbirkin here to give you all an update which is copy and pasted to all of my stories. I haven't actually written anything since I last updated **The Elemental Swordsman**, due to either reading the stories of others (The last like ten have all been over one hundred thousand words, with one being three hundred thousand), helping my parents with their yard work, or just slacking off.

As for **The Elemental Swordsman**, it is currently my favorite story, and I will be updating that first.

After that will be the next chapter of **The Fire Brothers**, because I really like my friend Yoh Narukami's Fairy Tail stories.

For those fans of **Black Blood**, I plan on releasing all eleven chapters at the same time, as well as a brand new chapter for **Kokketsu**, so that might take a while, but it will be third.

Those of you reading **A Fox And A Cat Make What?**, you're going to have to wait, as I know exactly what I want to happen, I know how I want it to happen, but I'm not updating that until after I do so for my other stories.

And last (and unfortunately least) those of you who want **A Taste Of The Desert** are shit out of luck. I have zero motivation for that story. Like **A Fox And A Cat Make What?**, I know what I want to happen, and how, I just don't want to do anything. As of right now, it is on indefinite Hiatus until I regain my mojo for it.

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Also, as it turns out, pain17ication only wants to Beta **The Elemental Swordsman**, so TheBlackSeaReaper is going to Beta the rest. Thank you to the both of you!

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The poll is officially over for Elemental Swordsman, and here are the results

Omake 23

Ignore 6

Story 4

Flashback 3

I'm not really surprised at the results of the flashback, but I was about the story option. I thought that would get second place, at least a few more votes, something.

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Now, as penance for the sin of a fake update, here is the teaser trailer for Red And Blue!

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Red And Blue

"My name is Namikaze Minato, and I wish to be Hokage!" Shouted the blonde haired blue eyed boy, standing in the middle of the silent classroom, before a round faced red-head burst into maniacal laughter, almost going into hysterics, as she used what appeared to be an Uchiha girl to steady herself, trying not to fall out of her seat, causing a raincloud to appear over the boy's head.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto, and...all I want is...a family." Came the timid, barely hearable voice from another blonde, the only difference between this one and the previous being a pair of bright silver eyes.

"You go Naruto!" Shouted the red-head as she instantly stopped laughing and flashed the silver eyed boy a bright grin and a thumbs up, a raincloud now thundering above Minato's head as Naruto gave her a small smile in return.

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"Aniki, watch this!" Shouted Naruto, running up to his brother, who was surrounded by his friends. Try as he might, Naruto simply could not make all that many friends, the nervous nature gained from living in the orphanage with a much more confident and popular brother annoying pretty much everyone but Uzumaki Kushina, who was Naruto's only friend, though she was friends with pretty much everyone (except Minato, for some reason).

"What do you want, spaz?" Taunted one of the other kids, instantly making Naruto recoil, gazing at the ground.

**WHAM**

After he had finished punching the boy's lights out, Minato turned to Naruto. "You know, as twins, we don't actually know which one of us is the eldest. For all we know, I should be calling you aniki." Joked be blue eyed blonde good naturedly, earning a small smile from Naruto. "Now, what is so important?" he asked, still with that joking tone that seemed to pull everyone towards him.

"Watch this, it's really cool, Aniki!" Shouted Naruto again, once more grinning, before he whipped out a kunai, and, before anyone could stop him, stabbed himself in the head with it.

"NARUTO!" Screamed Minato, only to freeze as Naruto pulled the kunai away with a grin, showing that the tip was horribly bent, Naruto's forehead shining a color similar to his eyes, not even a scratch on it.

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"I have to be with the silver spaz? Damn it, why couldn't we get the good brother?" Asked Mikoto, as she stared at the nervous looking Naruto, who was twiddling his fingers nervously.

"Do you think that our missions are going to be hard?" he asked, as the Uchiha rolled her eyes and looked at her other team mate.

'At least I have you, so it's not all bad.' She thought to herself as she gazed at her best friend Kushina.

"Don't be mean to Naruto-kun, Mikoto-chan! He's a good boy, aren't you?" She admonished her friend, before turning to the silver eyed blonde, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Naruto is a good boy!" he repeated, Mikoto once again rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, good and dead." She murmered, ignoring Naruto's paling face and Kushina's further admonishment.

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"Why?" Asked Mikoto, gazing in horror up at the bleeding blonde in front of her, the point of the sword in his chest stopped an inch from her face.

"Because you're my friend." He managed to cough out, his blood staining her face as he did so, before he fell, the blade being dragged out of him, the silver substance coating his skin receding.

"Well, I guess that a bloodline freak is still a bloodline freak." stated Raiga as he wiped the Kiba blade off on a cloth, before glancing back up to Mikoto, and smirking. "My team has probably already dealt with your sensei and the other girl by now, so I need to hurry up." He finished, raising the blade above his head, never even having drawn the other one. "Goodbye, little genin."

With that, he brought it down, never noticing that her eyes were now blood red with three tomoe each.

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"NARUTO!" Screamed Mikoto as he rode her lover to completion, feeling him shoot his seed into her, before she collapsed, her head resting on his chest, listening to his slowly calming heartbeat.

"I love you, Mikoto." Said Naruto suddenly, shocking the woman on top of him to gaze into his eyes in shock, before she smiled, kissed him on the lips, and rest her head against his chest once more, again listening to his heart.

"I love you too, Naruto." She replied, before trailing her hand down to clasp his, the two of them falling asleep.

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"It's the **Gin no Senshi** (Silver warrior)!" Screamed out one of the Iwa shinobi, before the sound of tearing flesh began to ring out through the smoking hell of what used to be a beautiful forest clearing, as a lone silver blur began to tear through a platoon like tissue paper.

"Kill him! Take him down!" Screamed the commanding officer of the group, panicking at seeing one of the "unkillable" of Konoha got closer and closer. The figure was well known, with several aliases, his true name being Namikaze Naruto, the only person to never be so much as scratched during the current war, as nothing could pierce his armor. Blades simply bounced off of him, all but the hottest **katon** jutsu was voilently ended before it could heat him up, **Doton** was crushed beneath his claws, **raiton** was negated by his **futon**, his speed allowed him to dodge any **futon** attacks, his bloodline allowing him to shed any rust from **suiton** jutsu, and the seal tags given to him by his brother and the man's girlfriend allowed him to neutralize the only Jinchuriki he had ever faced.

After about ten minutes of screaming, explosions, and the sounds of moving earth, all suddenly became silent, before the Konoha forces that had been left behind entered the clearing, before several of them vomited.

If the clearing had been hell before, it's current condition was Satan's happy place, with the entirety of it stained red with blood, various body parts strewn all over the place, with them stained red as well, as in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by corpses that he had made, sat Naruto in the fetal position, caked from head to foot in bodily fluids, mostly blood, rocking back and forth slightly.

"I don't want to do this anymore." Murmured the blonde as he shed a single tear, though everyone heard him in the dead silent forest, not even the animals or wind disturbing the horrifying scene.

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"Please Mikoto, just tell me why!" Shouted the silver eyed warrior for what felt like the thousandth time in hours. "If this is what you want, I will accept it, all I want is a reason!"

"I don't want this, but I can't tell you! I know this is difficult, but this is the way it has to be! Fugaku and I are getting married, and that is final!" She screamed, on the verge of tears, the several hours of arguing taking it's toll on both of them.

"If you know this is difficult, why can't you make it easier? I don't care about your clan, or the law, or what people will think. All I want to know is why! I love you! I want to be with you, I want to father our children! Did everything we did together mean anything to you? Do you think I can just accept this, after all we've been through?" Demanded the silver eyed man.

"Regardless of whether you accept it or not, I must do my duty to my clan. You could never understand something like family!" Screamed Mikoto, before she smacked a hand over her mouth, realizing what she had said.

"You're right, I could never understand. The only woman I'd want one with just dumped me. I guess that the Namikaze line ends with me." Chuckled Naruto darkly, thinking to how Minato had changed his name to Uzumaki for Kushina. He then turned away from Mikoto, to her, a clear sign that he didn't want to talk anymore.

"The ceremony is at noon on July twentieth. You're invited along with your brother and Kushin. I hope to see you there." Droned Mikoto, a slightly dead look in her eyes as well as she made to leave, before she paused, looking back over her shoulder at him. "I love you Naruto. No matter what happens, I just want you to know that." Stated the Uchiha woman, before she disappeared.

"I love you too, Mikoto." Whispered Naruto to himself, before he broke down on the forest floor, crying.

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Looking out upon the ceremony, She couldn't help but feel miserable.

_'He didn't even come.'_ She thought, as the music began to play, and she started to walk down the isle.

Upon reaching the altar, she once again scanned the crowd, seeing her favorite shade of red next to her favorite shade of blue, but her favorite color out of all, silver, was nowhere to be seen.

Realizing this, she looked to her husband to be, that arrogant smirk of his making her physically sick, though she didn't show anything, maintaining the stoic façade that all the Uchiha clan seemed to have since birth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today..." Began the priest, though she simply didn't care, slipping

"If anyone knows of any reason, as to why these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold their piece." Upon hearing this, the bride to be once again glanced at the empty seat next to her best friends husband sadly, wishing that despite all she had told him, he had come to stop her from doing this, tears that she refused to let fall putting pressure behind her eyes, as she closed them, taking a deep breath.

Looking once again at the crowd, only this time at her best friend, she could tell the slightly spastic red-head wanted so desperately to say something, anything, to prevent this, but couldn't. The girl had been told by the bride, her brother and law, and her husband, that this was the way things were supposed to be, that she couldn't do anything. The beautiful red-head was on the verge of tears, physically hurting herself not saying anything, if the almost unnoticeable drops of blood on the carpet from her clenched hands were anything to go by.

She then thought of what had lead to this moment, all the hardships, all the good times, the bad times, all that she had gone through to be with her love, and he with her, only for it all to be meaningless.

"Mikoto." Said Fugaku, frowning at her from his place opposite her

"I apologize, I was thinking about something." She replied, a frown upon her soon to be husband's face, before the smirk returned after an 'I do' from the Uchiha woman.

And for a split second, for a moment just before the kiss, as she once again scanned the crowd, she saw him, Naruto. He stood in the very back, leaning against the wall next to the exit doors, a sad smile on his face, watching as Mikoto and Fugaku got closer and closer, his eyes shiny with moisture. And an instant after black eyes met silver, her view was blocked off by Fugaku in the kiss that sealed the two together in the eyes of all.

Once again, at this point, all she could feel was nausea. She didn't want this man, but there was no other choice. She had to do this for her family and clan. As much as she wanted the brother of the Hokage, the Uchiha simply didn't fraternize outside the family. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She would do her duty to her clan, even if it meant that she would be unhappy for the rest of her life.

Even if it meant that he would be unhappy.

As she separated from her now husband, Mikoto's eyes instantly latched upon the spot she saw the only man she had ever truly loved last once again, but he was gone.

She would not see him again for almost nine years.

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"Pardon me, sensei, but you seem to have called everyone's name but my own." Came the polite call from the seven year old Itachi Uchiha, said to be the greatest the clan had ever produced since Madara Uchiha himself.

"Actually, Itachi-kun, you've been asked to be the apprentice of a very important figure in the village; Namikaze Naruto." Replied the little old man who taught the class, one of the only ones who treated those from clans and those not the same.

Amid the murmuring, Itachi couldn't help but feel bored, and sighed. He had been hoping to be placed upon a regular team, sick of being different, simply wanting to be just like everyone else, tired of being the prodigy. But no, he was now the apprentice of the strongest active shinobi in the village, Kushina and his parents being off active duty, all three of the Sannin outside the village, the Sandaime dead, and the Yondaime stuck behind his desk.

"He wanted you to meet him at training ground twenty seven at noon. If you wish to, you may leave now, but it's not for another two hours." Stated the old man, Itachi walking away before he had even finished.

Upon reaching the training grounds, whatever image he had had of his sensei was instantly shattered as he gazed upon the man surrounded by empty bowls of what smelled like ramen, a few popsicle wrappers, and a rather large jug of sake, sleeping in the middle of the medium sized clearing, snoring in a way that Itachi was able to hear almost a minute before seeing him.

Currently, the man was wearing extremely loose pants, with a rather loosely done robe, though in a contradiction, the belt was done up tightly, as well as being barefoot.

"Sensei?" Asked Itachi politely, thinking that this was going to be even more of a waste of time than he thought if this was their first meeting.

Insantly, the blonde's eyes snapped open, his right hand immediately shifting to one of the bowls, which was the hurled at Itachi's head, barely missing it as the boy dodged.

"Good one!" Complimented the blonde man, Itachi nodding in response. He then glanced at a small alarm clock next to him that Itachi had somehow missed, and raising an eyebrow at the time. "Well, that wasn't a waste of time or anything. Anyways, normally, I'm supposed to have us introduce ourselves, but that's rather redundant. Either I'll fail you, and you go back to the academy, or we have all the time in the world to get to know one another later. At this point, I'm supposed to test you to see if you've got what it takes to be a shinobi, but if I didn't think you did, I wouldn't have specifically asked for you, now would I? But, I do have to test you, so we're going to have a spar!"

"A spar?" Asked the slightly incredulous Itachi. Was this man going to ignore the fact that he was an Uchiha like his last sensei? This might not be so bad.

"Yes, a spar. Nothing more, nothing less. I want to see your abilities for myself." Stated the blonde as he and Itachi entered fighting stances, before blurring out of existence.

Several Hours Later.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you're ready to be a shinobi, I was honestly going to pass you within the first ten minutes, but you exceeded each and every one of my expectations." Stated Konoha's Juggernaut, as he sat cross-legged in front of a sweating, panting, and half-conscious Itachi, as he lay face down in the dirt, the training ground around them utterly unrecognizable, as the two had used everything they had (with Naruto literally using the enhanced strength given to him by his bloodline to throw downed trees at the boy) in an effort to neutralize one another. "I actually considered fighting with jonin strength just to stay on top of the battle. I didn't, but almost. Good for you."

"Thank you, sensei." Panted out Itachi, gazing at the completely un-winded man as he took a small swig from his water bottle.

"After all, if I didn't think you could pass, I wouldn't have even bothered with you. You're my first ever student. You have natural talent, and I see a lot of potential in you, Itachi, and it's now my job to nurture that potential into actual skill. Know this, by the time you are chunin, you will curse your existence, and damn my name in your prayers at night. You may belong to the village; but right now, you belong to me. No student of mine will be half-assed" Recited Naruto ominously, Itachi actually panicking slightly at the man's words and manic grin.

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"Naruto-sensei, it is my understanding that Yondaime-sama's son Menma, your nephew, is at our house on a play-date with Sasuke. Would you like to come and visit the two of them?" Asked Itachi, after a long day of Naruto beating the hell out of Itachi a few months later, Naruto apparently believing that pain made the lesson stick.

Itachi could honestly say that Naruto was one of the few men he genuinely respected. He had heard dozens of stores about the man during the war, but knowing him in person was completely different. The Tetsudamashi user figuratively, and literally, hammered skills into the Uchiha all kinds of skills, valuable ones, useless ones, weird ones, including tracking, cooking, trap making, genjutsu, origami, and even interior decorating one weird day. Itachi's sensei had never once treated him differently because of who he was (slightly a lie, as Naruto did actually treat Itachi differently from everyone else, but that was because the boy was his student, and not because of his name), actually making the young Uchiha feel normal, a rather pleasant change to the norm of people figuratively kissing his ass.

After a few seconds of silence, a hesitant nod from the blonde jonin was all the slightly confused Itachi needed before he walked away, back to the village, leading his still slightly out of it Naruto to his house.

Several minutes passing bye, the two made it to the Uchiha district, and while the guards and all the Uchiha they passed were slightly tense, there was no real incident until they reached the clan head's home, Naruto stopping Itachi several feet away with a hand on the boy's shoulder.

She was currently on her knees in front of her house, thick gloves on as she tended the garden there, transplanting a small bunch of bright purple Azaleas from a pot into a small hole in the ground, a trowel stabbed into the earth a little ways away. Looking upon her, Naruto couldn't help but examine her, the glories of motherhood and age making her even more beautiful than before, her alabaster skin almost glowing to his eyes, her black hair curtaining around her slightly sweaty face. Though she had left active duty almost a month after her marriage to Fugaku, she was still in very good shape, no excess body fat, taught, wiry muscles beneath her skin, subtly shifting with every movement she made. Her clothing was also radically different from her time as a kunoichi with a simple dark purple blouse, a red-plum skirt and a light-yellow apron atop that.

"Hello, Mikoto." Said Naruto to his student's mother a minute later, the woman flinching at the sound, before slowly turning around from her place tending the garden in front of her home, her youngest son Sasuke playing with Menma, who was pretty much a black haired clone of Minato with whisker marks on his face, the two of them obliviously petting a cat on the porch.

_'Her eyes are just as beautiful as I remember.'_ He thought to himself, gazing into the soft black pools.

Just as he had looked at her, so too was Mikoto examining Naruto. The first thing she saw were his eyes, _'Still my favorite color'_. Mostly though, the only real difference to him now were the fact that he was slightly taller, his changed wardrobe, and a few new scars, gained in the time that neither had seen the other.

"It's been a long time." Said Mikoto, the first to break the silence after ten seconds.

"Yes, it has." Stated Naruto simply, the two of them simply staring into each other's eyes, before both of their expressions softened, before Naruto walked away, leaving Menma play with Sasuke, never having even looked at the boys.

This confused Itachi, as he had seen Naruto with Menma before, and only direly important matters superseded the man's time with his family. Then the way the two adults had looked at one another. He had noticed certain people look at each other in that way, the Yondaime and his mother's best friend Kushina, the Sandaime and his wife before the two's untimely demise, countless other's in the village, all having one thing in common; love.

His mother had certainly never looked at his father in that way, at most gazing at the man with amused disconnect, but mostly with apathy, as though she purely didn't care about the man who had fathered her children.

_'Do the two of you love each other?_' Wondered Itachi to himself, as he and his mother watched the legendary figure walk away from his family home.

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I realized about halfway through making this, that Naruto's powers here, are somewhat similar to his powers in **Black Blood**. Now, when I say this, I mean it rather loosely, as this Naruto produces Iron and steel from his body, and **Black Blood's** Naruto's blood is heavy with iron.

The key differences between the two are that **Kottetsu** is not limited to his body. It's a liquid that he can make literally any shape with, including coating his body, like with this Naruto's iron skin.

Now, **Kokketsu** Naruto's affinities are earth and wind, due to wind being his original affinity, and earth due to the high amount of iron in his blood. This story's Naruto's affinities is just wind, it being his original affinity.

This Naruto doesn't actually have to control his abilities continuously either, unlike that of **Black Blood's**. He simply has to imagine that a certain body part is covered, and it is, but in **Black Blood**, he had to actively control it, or it simply becomes a black puddle, making much harder to control. Also, this Naruto's physical abilities are passively enhanced depending upon what and how much of his body is covered by the steel, unlike **Black Blood**, which is pretty much universal, changing strength only with the amount of chakra pumped into the blood itself.


End file.
